Midnight Serenade
by Galadiel
Summary: Some stories catch our hearts harder than others. Arlette, an orphan brought up by Madame Giry and her daughter, as a child heard a story about the Opera Ghost. Never has she suspected, though, that it could turn out to be based on real events. And never has she thought that some things might make everything come full circle.
1. Ouverture

I can still remember the first time I heard that story. To me, it was like the most beautiful of all fairy tales, so full of mysteries. And so full of love. Truth be told, I really wished I could have love like the one in the story I listened to so gladly. They all claimed it was all true... but you know how many silly things adults could say to the children. And back then I was a child, too. A forgotten one. A lost one, yes. But a child nevertheless.

Could I believe it would be also a beginning of my own story? Well, everyone does have their own story to tell. One is more interesting, while the other is just a simple story of a simple man. And while I did dream of a fantastic story for myself, somewhere deep in my soul I did realise that it was not possible for a simple orphan that had been found in a dark alley by some wonderful woman who then brought her up. Who had taught her everything...

And who had told her all those stories.

It was maybe ten, maybe twelve years ago... time goes by so quickly when you learn new things. And before I realized, I was no longer a child. I have grown up and now I am no child but a young woman who still does believe in the fairy tales I heard so many years ago. And who still dreams of the same things like back then.

My name is Arlette, and this is my story.


	2. Poco a poco stringendo

That day began pretty normally. I knew there would be rehearsal later that day, so I decided to practice a bit before it started. As usually, I would ask Meg to assist me for she was my best friend, despite the age gap between us. Well, it was not that big, anyways, just a couple of years. However, I found it to be a pretty convenient thing since Meg was much more experienced than I was (maybe thanks to the fact her mother was a ballet teacher and she had practiced almost since she had learnt to walk, while I had started pretty late as for a dancer), and she could show me some really interesting tricks that made dancing not only easier, but also more pleasant. Not to mention – safer. Since I had started my little career as a member of the choir here, I had already strained my leg several times, and twice or thrice hurt my back really badly. Once my friend had been afraid I would never be able to dance again, but a miracle had happened and I had got well after a couple of weeks, so I could take part in the next performance. However, I do remember I had got the easiest and the smallest of all parts.

Since then, though, I had started to practice much more. I know, maybe it is selfish of me, but I wanted to achieve something. I did not want to be _just_ a dancer. One of many. I wanted to perform. To have a real role. Maybe even become a soloist – therefore I decided not only to dance more, but also sing whenever I had some time. Usually, I would have done it late at night in my room, where no-one would hear me. There were also some times when I managed to sneak in to hear the divas sing. I think listening to the experienced performers do help a lot, so I did not stop doing that. Well, I have to admit that a few times I had been asked to leave, because I had not been supposed to take part in those rehearsals.

Right now, though, I was about to start my little lesson with Meg. She was not only my best friend, but also as if my older sister. It was her mother who had found me in that lost alley when I had been a child. It was her who had brought me up until now, who had taught me everything. Yes, she was a strict tutor, but her daughter, Meg, was a person who could soothe me whenever she became too strict. And Meg continued the stories her mother had mentioned... I do not know whether Madame had done it on purpose or accidentally, but that was how I had first heard about the story about the Opera Ghost.

"Ah, there you are," Meg smiled at me as she approached me and took my hands into her own; I liked them a lot. They were slightly larger than mine – probably because Meg was several inches taller – and really smooth and warm, what allowed me to feel safe when she was near. "I've been looking for you. I've heard something really interesting, but I cannot tell you here... Well... I... I suppose I wasn't the one to hear it, either."

Something in the tone of her voice betrayed that not only had she been not the one to hear it – she had done everything to listen to it anyways. Well, I accepted this part of Meg, probably because I was a bit like her as well. When we had been younger, sometimes we had been eavesdropping just to get to know about certain things – and we shared everything. There had never been a secret between us... maybe besides two. One of them belonged to me. The other one – to Meg.

The thing I had never told Meg about was that I had been training so hard to get a real engagement. I had never opened my heart to her when it came to singing. On the other hand, she had never shared any details about the "Ghost" story. Yes, she had told me it had really happened, but she had not told me who the Ghost was... or who was his lover. And where it had actually taken place. She claimed she did that because she wanted to protect someone but at that time, I did not really understand that.

However, now I was quite fascinated about the secret she wanted to tell me about, so I allowed her to pull me with her. Not far from where we had met there was a little chapel, where hardly anyone ever came. It was our hiding place. It was Meg who had once shown me this room, and I had liked it since then.

"It is said," she started at last, having looked around to make sure there was no-one to hear us, "that they will be holding an audition soon... after the premiere, the director wants to start working on the next performance... but he wants it to be something completely _fresh_."

She rolled her eyes as she said the last word, and I chuckled. I understood perfecly why she did that – the director was so lackadaisical that it was quite funny. He was a good man, though, and I liked him pretty much.

"Therefore... Arlette, I thought about you."

There was a blush on her cheeks as she made that confession, and her eyes were glistening a bit. I could not quite understand that... why was she looking at me in this way? Especially since I had a feeling that she was also apologizing for something.

"M- me?" I repeated, a bit surprised, but I felt some strange burning in my cheeks. Was I blushing as well...? "But why me?"

I did realize I had this secret before her. That I had never shared this one thing with her. So why would she think of me while speaking about starting something _fresh_? If I had got it well – and I thought I had – the director wanted new singers. He did not want to continue with the same old people... well yes, of course, that was pretty risky. Our stars were sure to attract many people (and money), and if they did not get the roles in the new performance... it could turn out to be a complete mistake and a waste of our time and money.

Meg huffed and smiled with hesitation.

"Oh, come on, Arlette... don't be silly. I know you wanted it to remain secret, but I do know pretty well you've been practicing all this time. When you couldn't dance... sometimes I could hear you in my room. Sometimes you came here, if you were afraid that someone could hear you. But you forget the fact I'm a part of you. Like your shadow. Besides, my mother told me to take care of you – so I do."

I looked at her so perplexed that I did not know what to say. Did it mean she had been following me... because her mother had told her to do so?

"Don't be angry," she asked in her sweet voice and as she leant in, she kissed my forehead. "You know I only mean well. And I want it to be your chance, alright?"

Meg was right. It _could_ be my chance. If I prepared well, I could take part in the audition... maybe I would not get any of the most important roles (I could not dream of the lead), but maybe someone would notice me after all these years I had spent here as someone as invisible as the oxygen.

And truth be told... I felt so thankful to Meg at that moment that I was afraid my heart would explode. With a smile, I nodded and gently squeezed her hands.

"But you'll need to help me," I declared after a moment. "You are a part of me and I will need your help... I'll need to practice much more than I have until now. And I'm aware of the fact you know much more than I do."

Meg made a little, humble expression, but I could see pride in her eyes. Pride mixed with so much happiness that I could not help but feel happy as well.

Our happiness could not last long, though. Well, maybe it was not that short – after the premiere the director really told us that he would want some new leads to be fished out of our lot... and I could see that many of the members of the choir were interested. I had known since the very beginning that it would be hard, but only now did I feel something like that. Yes, I was scared. Not only nervous, it was much stronger, much deeper. I knew I was still pretty young; there would be so many chances... and yet... I was afraid I could break down if I did not do well this time.

Nevertheless, I still wanted to try. At that time I hardly ever slept. Even when Meg left me in my room, tired after many hours of practicing, I could not close my eyes and sometimes I got out of my bed and snuck into the chapel to continue my lessons. At least until Meg got to know about it and threatened that she would lock me in my room.

I had to be quiet, then. Although I stopped leaving my chambers, I still did not sleep at nights. I practiced everything I could: my dance steps, my breath, nerves, everything. Maybe because of how tired and absent-minded I was at that time Madame got to know about my plans.

After one of the rehearsals she told me to stay and while everyone else left, she looked at me with some strange expression in her eyes. I could say it was fear... but after a while I changed my mind and decided she was simply furious.

"You will not take part in the audition," she told me calmly, having closed the door. "I will not let that happen."

I could not grasp why she had said so. Why would she not want me to try? Why did she not want to give me a chance?

"But..." I started, even though I hardly ever dared talk back. "But why? I promise, I shall do my best, Ma'am. I will not bring you any shame. I know I could never aspire to take the lead, but... but maybe I could..."

"Enough," she cut in and glanced at me with this strict seriousness in her eyes. Her hand rested on my shoulder and she squeezed it. Once again I had a feeling she was scared. As if it could bring me any harm...

But how could singing hurt me? Was that not what I had always wanted to do?

I really wanted to tell Madame that I would fight for it, but the way she looked at me stopped me from saying anything. I sighed and lowered my eyes.

"Go now and practice a bit with Meg. She'll show you how to relax your ankle enough not to hurt it," she spoke after a while and without a word, I left.

My mind was so busy at that time that I could not think of anything else. It was as if my whole world had just crashed. I had been practicing so much and for so long... I had sacrificed so much – and for what?

"Why is your face so grim?"

I heard Meg's voice coming as if from afar. Taking a deep breath, I glanced up at her and took her hands into my own. Having taken her into the chapel, I told her about everything. I thought Meg would be just as surprised as I was... but I had been wrong.

To be honest, I would need to say Meg looked like she had been expecting that all this time. As if it was as natural to her, as if I had just told her that the skies were blue. It was just another shock to me that day.

"I have no idea, Arlette, how she's got to know about that. I swear, I did all I could not to let her know," she confessed at last and we sat down. One of her hands reached for a candle and as she had lit it, she put it in front of the wonderful painting of an angel. "But I cannot say, either, that I am surprised... I expected that her decision would be like that. But it's your life, Arlette. You cannot let my mother decide about it until you die."

I looked at her with concern.

"But you know I owe her my life. She's like my own mother," I told her after a while, biting my bottom lip. "And I do not want to let her down. If she does not want me to take part in that audition... I guess there must be a reason."

"And there is," answered Meg without a moment of waiting. "Please, Arlette, understand me... and forgive me for keeping all of it secret from you. But there is a reason why my mother is so anxious. And she's not wishing you anything bad, on the contrary, she's afraid that... that something might hurt you."

"Hurt me?" I repeated in surprise. "But what in the earth could hurt me during an audition? If they don't choose me, I swear, I will keep going, even though it would be painful to know I'm not good enough... but it's not like it could seriously do any harm to me."

Meg sighed and closed her eyes.

"You don't understand anything... and it's all our fault. My mother's and mine. Because we wanted to protect someone... but we forgot to protect you in this matter."

Slowly, I began feeling irritated. I wanted to know what they all had been hiding from me and why it was so important. What was that what could hurt me so badly? Why was it so strongly connected to singing?

"The whole story," continued Meg after a moment, but her voice was shaking, just like her hands; she did not open her eyes, either, "begins right here. In this very building. It was several years ago... oh, Arlette... there's so much to tell you... about the story you've heard in your childhood..."


	3. Intermezzo

It was a rather calm, serene night. One of many spring nights like that. No-one could predict that anything unusual would happen; actually, there was no sign of anything strange. After a long day full of work everyone went to sleep – and their dreams were just as pleasant as they would be any other night.

Someone was not asleep, though; that night was busy for him, but it was that good kind of business, which filled him with excitement and satisfaction rather than tiredness. Smiling to himself he reached for his quill and returned to writing.

* * *

The woman frowned as she read the letter over and over again, as if she was looking for something new in the words she had almost learnt by heart by now. Although she knew there was nothing more nor anything less in them, she seemed to pray what she had read was not true. That it would not come true.

Sighing, she put the paper aside and stood up, wrapping the dressing gown around herself as she began walking around her room, thinking. There had to be a way out of this curse – because it had to be curse, otherwise it would not happen again.

Right now, she was not quite sure what to do. Whom should she protect this time? She was not getting any younger – it was slowly getting more and more tiring to be everyone's guardian angel. She had just one daughter, and istead, she felt as if she had many more children. Everyone trusted her, and it was a compliment to her, nevertheless, she felt it was the right time for her to start thinking more about herself than the others.

* * *

The man had not expected to get any message that morning – who could that be from...? His hands trembled slightly as he opened the letter, slightly anxious as he saw the seal... he had heard the stories, but never until now could he have believed them. Did it mean, though, that what had happened before would happen just once more?

Irritated, he got up to throw the letter right into the fire, without even reading it. Nevertheless, he was too curious to let that happen. Maybe he would not follow the commands, but at least he had to know what it was that the sender of this letter wanted him to know. It was probably either very important, or at least very interesting.

Having taken a deep breath, he sat down at a desk and put his eyeglasses on. Placing the paper right before himself, he began reading.

* * *

Everything, as he believed, had gone just right. For now, all he could do was wait. The show would start the very next day – and he would be happy to watch it. Everything had been prepared until now...

The curtain was just about to go up.


	4. Agitato

I felt as if my body was sinking somewhere deep... I did not want it all to happen but I understood that there was wisdom in Madame's words. I knew she wanted to protect me – but maybe this time it was Meg who was right...? No longer could I think of it; it was so tiring to go through it over and over again.

Nevertheless, I had to admit that the fact I could not go to the audition, after all the effort and time I had put in practicing, was at least disturbing and sad. I felt... disappointed. Truth be told, I really had hoped I might get a more important role in the next production. Instead, I learnt that eveyrthing I had believed in as a child was not true.

Yes, Meg had told me more about the story she had shared with me when I had been little, but I still did not understand. Now I only knew that there was a secret neither Meg nor Madame wanted to tell me about and the more they tried to explain themselves, the less I understood. At least I knew the reason: there was something they could not share with me. They needed to protect someone else... someone I could know. Or maybe not.

Now, as I watched the young women gathering in the rehearsal room to start the audition, I felt some strange pression in my chest. I could have been amongst them if not for the fact there was _some_ reason I could not take part in this event. Because Madame told me not to... because I could get hurt... but I did not even know how.

"Come, Arlette," I heard Meg's voice as her hand gently rested on my arm and she pulled me towards the crowd. I looked at her with surprise.

"But... your mother told me not to..." I started, hesitantly.

"No, she's told you not to take part in it," she responded, shaking her head, "but no-one has said you cannot listen to the other girls, right? At least you'll know if you are good enough to try next time you have this chance..."

There was some truth in Meg's words, however, I had to admit that listening to the other girls would only make me feel worse. Nevertheless, I would not let her down right now – I saw excitement in her eyes. She was just so happy to be able to find a way to make me feel better... and I did not want to let her down.

I let out a soft sight and nodded, allowing our fingers to entwine as she held my hand. Meg was just a real angel. I could not wish for a better friend than her; to me, she was more than a friend or a sister. I would give everything for her.

We entered the room right after the crowd and sat down on the chairs in one of the corners. We could see the girls perfectly as they prepared – some of them were happy, some excited, and then, there were those who felt nothing but fear.

I could understand all of them. I am sure I would walk around, feeling my hands sweating if I were amongst them. Right now, though, I could only take a deep breath and try to suppress my tears as I watched them getting ready for the audition.

No, do not understand me wrong; I did wish all of them all the best. I wanted them to do their best; I wanted them to be appreciated and get the roles they deserved. They were all wonderful – I knew it for I knew _them_. They were all my friends, better or worse, and I had grown up by their side. They were like a family for me.

The director was slightly late, and he seemed to be just as nervous as the participants, what made me pretty surprised.

Our director was a rather young man – they said he was an experienced artist, and I could believe that, because I had worked with him for quite a while now, and his young age disappeared behind his talent. That was probably why he had been accepted here, even though so many other directors had been trying to get this job.

He took his place and asked everyone to calm down, even though he did not seem to be calm himself.

"I wonder what's happened to him," I whispered, leaning closer to Meg. I was sure she had noticed that, too, even though now I had a feeling she was doing her best not to let me notice that. Was there another secret between us...?

"I have no idea," she muttered, but frowned slightly, as if there was something she suspected, but I could not know what it was.

I decided to try to get to know a little bit more, though.

"But you have some feeling, right? You've noticed the same thing I have... something must have gone wrong..." I mentioned, looking into her eyes seriously and she could not pretend anymore.

Meg let out a deep sigh as she lowered her sight and nodded.

"I have noticed that, Arlette... but... but if that's what I think it might be..." she mumbled, then bit her bottom lip and shook her head. "I don't think I could tell you. I am not supposed to know, either, that's why..."

Then there was something... another secret that made both of us uncomfortable, but although I was at least curious, I decided not to ask any further. I was afraid of hurting my friend, and that was the last thing I wanted. Besides, I knew one thing: if she would not tell me, there had to be some serious reason. Like when her mother had not allowed me to take part in the audition. I might not know until now what it was, but I felt it was really important.

They were both concerned about me, but I could not grasp it why. Yes, I had always known that they considered me their family, but it was not the only reason why they were this anxious. On the other hand, I wondered if I would not be safer if they could at least tell me what was that what threatened me...

"Don't be angry," she whispered, then pressed a warm kiss to my temple. "I know you want to know, but... my mother might get angry if she gets to know... and I do not want you to get involved into all of this..."

But then the director shushed us and we could not talk anymore.

Well, maybe it was a good thing; at least I stopped thinking of the threat – and focused on the singing girls. Ones were better, the others were worse, but do not get me wrong: they were all amazing. I was afraid that if I took part in the event, I might simply turn out to be much weaker than them, therefore I stopped worrying.

It was over in the next couple of hours. We were just about to leave the room when one of the mirrors broke with a loud crack. One or two of the girls screamed as we all looked around. I could feel Meg's hand around my wrist.

"Come, Arlette," she whispered right into my ear and pulled me towards the door, ignoring my attempts to ask her about what was happening.

I needed to know, though. Trying to get my hand away from her grasp, I turned back, but she was merciless. I had had no idea Meg was this strong until now. Before the door closed behind us, I managed to see another mirror breaking into millions of tiny pieces.

"What was that?" I asked, breathless, when she pulled me into one of the corridors where was no-one but us. It did not make me feel any safer, though; actually, I had a strange feeling someone was following us, but I realised I was getting just more and more anxious, even though there was no reason for me to.

But... really none?

As Meg slowed down, I looked around once more and noticed her doing the same. Taking a deep breath, once I made sure there was no-one else, I turned to glance at her once more. I had no idea what I felt. I was definitely angry at her – but at the same time grateful. She might have just rescued my life, even though my curiosity remained unsatisfied.

"I told you I had a feeling something bad might happen," she responded at last. I could see that she was nervous and terrified. Did it mean it had something in common with why the director had been behaving like that...? "And I was not wrong. My mother told me to keep my eye on you when I told her I was going to take you to the audition. At first, she protested, but I answered that she cannot keep you cut away from the whole world just because she cares for you... but it seems I was wrong. I shouldn't have taken you there... it's all my fault, and I'm afraid that if I had not taken you away... something... something really bad might have happened."

There were just way too many secrets between us as I realised at that moment. Or at least just one secret too much – just this secret was so grand that my whole life depended on it. I did not want to live a life in which I would be hidden from the whole world: what kind of life would that be? I might have been nothing but an orphan, someone who had achieved nothing, but at least I wanted to be happy. To make my dreams come true.

If I were to stay hidden, there was no chance for me to find any happiness. I could not start a career. I could not find love. I would stay alone with Meg and her mother, and although I loved them truly, I had a feeling that was just... too little.

On the other hand, though, I had a feeling I was just being ungrateful, and it made me feel awful and guilty.

"Meg, I beg of you," I whispered at last. My heart was beating so hard that I could hear it. "Please, do tell me what's going on. If it has anything to do with me, I guess I am the one to know. I don't want to run away all the time just because there's something chasing after me, even though there is no reason for it to do so. I want to face it... I want to fight it if I need to. But I don't want to hide all my life. I want to live."

I could see the expression on her face change. It was obvious she was hesitant about it; it would mean she would need to break a promise she had given to her mother.

"I don't think I'm the one to tell you about it," she decided at last as she let out a deep breath. "But you're right. It's your life and you have a right to live it the way you want. But... do understand my mother and I want you to be safe. That's all."

I nodded, understanding that she would take me to Madame now. She was the only one who could explain everything to me... because, as I had got to know from Meg, she was the one who was responsible for what had happened here back then.

Her hand found mine and she pulled me back down the corridor when we heard some steps. She stopped immediately, looking around to find a hiding place, but before she managed to, we noticed it was no-one else but the director himself.

"Oh, wonderful," he spoke with some strange relief on his face – I was not quite sure what his words might have meant, but I decided to stay where I was. Maybe it would be any clue that would make the secret any clearer to me. "Just the person I've been looking for. Mademoiselle Noël... I need you to come with me. Right now."

I glanced at Meg with nervousness. I was not quite sure why he wanted to speak to me – he had barely ever talked to me before.

"I shall go with you," she answered only as she took my hand, refusing to let go.

The man seemed to have just noticed her – and it was not a good surprise to him. Having opened his mouth, he stared at her, apparently trying to find a way to explain that she was not supposed to go.

"It's... definitely not the best idea," he reacted at last as he took a deep breath. "It would be much better if I had the chance of talking to Mademoiselle Noël without... anyone to listen to this conversation..."

We did not even notice when but another person joined us. Never before had I been this relieved to see Madame Giry.

"No, Monsieur," she responded, placing her hand on my shoulder. "She is not supposed to go anywhere, and the reason why she has not taken part in the audition is that I did not allow her to. And nothing is going to change that... no matter what."

A shadow passed through the director's face.

"Then... you do know..." he whispered and I felt Madame's hand twitch on my shoulder, but she remained calm.

"I do know," she responded as she raised her other hand; I could notice she was holding some paper and I suspected it was some kind of a letter, but I did not notice what could be written on it. I did notice, though, that there was a big seal, even though it was broken. However, I did not manage to see what was on it, because she hid the letter. "I have got one, too. But I am not going to allow it to happen once more. Otherwise someone else might lose their life..."

"If she's not going to perform," the director cut in, "someone is definitely going to lose their life, and I am afraid it would be me, so I beg your pardon, Madame..."

I did not hear the rest of the conversation, and I had a feeling Meg did not pay any attention to it, either, as we exchanged terrified looks.

Someone might lose their life because I would – or would not – perform...

"Excuse me," I spoke at last, and both the director and Madame looked at me with surprise. "But I do not feel well... I shall go to my room and rest. Once I'm better, I shall talk to you again. But for now... Madame, Monsieur..."

I bowed my head and left. Neither of them tried to stop me – and even Meg stayed in her previous place, even though I could feel her gaze upon me.

Once I neared my room, I pushed the door, taking a deep breath, hoping I would find a way to calm down. I needed it after all this time. I had kept working hard. Then I had got to know I was in danger. Now I had realised someone might die because of me. I wished I would just go to sleep and wake up to get to know it had been nothing but a bad dream...

But when I entered my room, I understood it was just the beginning.


	5. Dolcissimo possibile

At first, I was not quite sure whether it was just my imagination, or reality, but I had a strange feeling I was not alone in my own room, even though it was just as dark and empty as I had left it in the morning. There was actually no reason for me to believe it was not empty... maybe I was getting paranoid because of what was happening in my life, and I think at that moment I started thinking it was so. It would be such a relief... it would be so much easier to think it was like that: that I was safe, that nothing bad could happen to me. That all of it was caused by my fear that had awoken after what had happened to me throughout those days.

However, had it been so, I would have been able to finish my story right here. Maybe I would have had some problems because of that, maybe I would have needed to go and see a doctor. Maybe my career would have ended because of my hallucinations. But it did not happen. It could be the best or the worst that had ever happened to me. At that moment, though, I could not be sure – but it meant my life was no longer normal.

I entered my room and took a deep breath, looking around just to make sure there was no-one but me in there. Apparently someone must have taken care of the fireplace because the fire danced happily, casting shadows on the walls and floor. Slowly, my fear and nervousness began leaving my body – and only then did I feel how tired I actually was.

I had been skipping nights lately and I definitely needed some rest. Too much had happened in my life: the premiere, then my practicing and the whole thing with auditions... and eventually, the story that had turned out to be real. If I could just have had some rest, I would have been the happiest person alive. But I was just about to learn that it was just the beginning.

As I had lit one of the candles, I put it on the nightstand and sat down on the edge of my bed. My whole body was sore: my arms, legs, back... everything hurt. Having closed my eyes once I had taken my shoes off, I lay down and pressed my hands to my face. Only then did I realise my hands were trembling and my face was wet from sweat. I had not noticed until now how scared I must have been; I wondered whether Madame, Meg and the director had noticed that: maybe that was the reason why they had not protested when I had told them I had wanted to have some rest. Maybe that was why Meg had not followed me.

I do not know whether I had just begun falling asleep, but the strange feeling of someone's presence touched me once again. Without even a moment of hesitation, I took my hands away from my face and opened my eyes. Having sat up, I looked around to check if I was just getting terrified of my own shadow or someone had really entered my room.

That was when I heard it for the first time.

My name... coming from someone's lips. I had heard it so many times in my life: and yet, that time it was not just the same. Never before had my name sounded so sweet. My heart began pounding as if after a long run.

"Who's there?" I asked, but it turned out to be nothing but a whisper; I was simply not able to say anything louder – it already sounded like a crack in this stillness.

The light of the candle fluttered, as if some wind blew through the room, even though the window was closed. I had no idea why, but although I was scared, there was another feeling that filled my heart: serenity. And it was that wonderful kind of it, when I did not try to fight anymore – even though my own reason told me to run away.

Just like back then, when Meg had pulled me towards the door...

I wondered if it had anything in common with the curiosity I had felt at that moment, when the mirrors had cracked. I was sure much more had happened in the rehearsal room, just we did not know about it, for all of it had happened after we had left.

It was just like in some kind of a play: the ouverture had already sounded, now it was the right time for the first air... but whose air would it be?

I trembled. At that very moment I remembered the director's terrified face as he had uttered my name. Why had he been chasing after me? Why had he needed me after he had listened to so many talented girls?

And then – I could see Madame Giry's pale cheeks and the touch of her hand on my shoulder. She was afraid that something would happen to me...

Did it me it would be my air? That for some reason my story would be more interesting than until now? In all of the books I had read before, in the fairy tales I had heard in my childhood, the main characters had never expected they would become heroes of their story. Would it be the moment I realised my story had begun...?

As I asked if there was anyone there but me, I looked around. There had to be someone... anyone to call my name. And yet, I saw no-one in my room, even though the wind seemed to be blowing delicately around me.

"Arlette," I heard once more, and it sent a pleasurable shiver down my spine. I closed my eyes and sighed quietly, even though I understood I should just run away. Maybe talk to Meg or Madame...

When I realised that, this shiver turned into something less pleasant as it mixed with fear. Who was it? And was he in my room...?

Because it was certainly a male voice: warm and delicate. Just like a breath of a summer wind. Like a touch on my skin, caressing it, pulling me closer, making me so curious...

Whoever it was, he could not be a bad person. No bad man could have such a voice. It was like blessing, like a voice of an angel whose wings were now wrapped around me, protecting me from the cruel world around...

"I'm here," I answered at last, even though I could not remember forming those words: as if this response came from my lips on its own. As if it was the only appropriate answer, something that had to be spoken out loud.

"Do not be afraid, my child," the same voice sounded around me, but also as if inside of me. Maybe it really was an angel, my own guardian angel that had been looking after me all that time? "I am not here to hurt you... but to protect and guide you... to teach you... if only you would like to follow my advice."

I had had several tutors in my past: especially Madame Giry who was also my guard. However, it was nothing like right now. At that moment, although I had no idea why that man wanted to teach me – and what he wanted me to learn – I felt some internal happiness. It was more like a warm wave flooding my heart than an outburst of joy which had been the only happiness I had got to know until now.

Once I had heard those words, I knew I could not say no. I just wanted to know more. I wanted someone who would lead me – but who would not protect me the way Madame did. Do not understand me wrong: I loved and appreciated her, but I knew I needed more than that. Otherwise I would stay hidden from the rest of the world until the very end.

"Teach me, Master," I begged as I opened my eyes and looked around, hoping to find his face anywhere, maybe behind the curtain. Maybe in the window... but he was nowhere to be seen, and I felt in some way disappointed, even though there was actually no reason for me to expect him to show up now, if he had been hiding all that time.

On the other hand, though, I could not understand why he would stay hidden. If he was to become my tutor, would it not be proper for him to stand there, with me? There was no-one closer to the pupil than the tutor. Sometimes even parents were not as close as the tutor himself; it was him who knew the student's loves and fears, who knew their desires and uncertainties. He would recognise his student amongst millions of others.

And then, the pupil would love their tutor more than anyone else. Appreciate and respect him. Sometimes the tutor would be the only one to show their student what life tasted like. Who expressed attention, yes, but also discipline.

I had never had a tutor like this. There had always been just one teacher for the whole bunch of us, girls, who had been practicing to become dancers. It was already much more than I could have ever dreamt of, after all. As an orphan, I deserved no education at all. Instead, though, I had received upbringing many could have only dreamt of.

I was a lucky girl, after all.

And now, I felt even more fortunate, especially for there was no reason why I would have got that much.

"I will take care of you, my child," he spoke once more, and this voice seemed to be caressing me almost physically. "But I would need you to promise me that you would follow everything I say. And that you would never leave me, no matter what."

His words seemed to be a plea, not a simple request. Was he afraid I would just turn back and leave...? Why would he feel so?

"I could never leave you," I promised, feeling that this one sentence would turn my whole life upside down, even though back then I did not even realise what it would mean. "I shall give you my life in return for your teaching."

Silence was what followed my words. But it was not a simple lack of words: the air seemed to be trembling around me; it was full of emotion, however, I was not able to distinguish what kind of emotion it might be. Having taken a deep breath, I looked around once more, getting more and more nervous. I realised that what I was doing right now might make Madame disappointed or even angry, especially after what she had done to protect me.

But I could not stay under her wings forever. I needed to break free... and I felt it was the right moment. I needed to grow up.

"You shall give life to my music," he whispered and I felt something clench on my heart, making it hard to breathe. As if I had been given the most perfect and the most important of all roles. "But my music is me... and this is why you are not allowed to leave. You cannot listen to anyone but me. They will try to rip you away from me, my child, but they will not succeed... unless you allow them to."

"Never," I responded immediately. Although I did not know this person, I already felt it would be a real, physical pain if someone tried to take me away.

Once again, he said nothing, but I could feel that he smiled.

"You will not tell anyone... not even one person... about what you heard from me," he warned at last, and that serious tone in his voice made me promise silently I would follow his wish. "Every night I shall come to you to teach you. If you follow my voice, I will teach you everything. But no-one can know about me."

When he said that, I began wondering why he was so afraid... or was it something else, not fear?

"You will be my secret, Master," I gave him my word, placing my right hand right over my heart. There was no way I could break this promise. I knew that there should be no secrets between me and Meg or her mother, but it was my only chance. "But why?"

"They will not understand, my child," he explained quietly with sadness that seemed to be piercing my heart. "To them... to them I am a monster."

I had no idea what to say. Although I opened my mouth, not even one word left my lips. Had I given my word too quickly? Should my decision have been different? If he was a monster to the rest of the world... who would he be to me?

"Then... if you are not a monster..." I began after a longer while with hesitation apparent, "who are you?"

At that moment, I was not quite sure what to expect. Anger? Laughter? But none of that came. Instead, his voice once more filled my head and soul.

"I, my child, am the Angel of Music."


	6. Piú misterioso

I did not sleep that night. Although I did lay down in my bed to rest, I could not fall asleep – but what was now reality to me, was better than any dream in my whole life. Because I was really convinced I had just met an angel. A true guardian who would lead me through the world of music I loved so much.

Because although to many I had been old when I had started my musical education, I truly loved music. I had, since I had remembered. However, before I had not been able to learn anything and it was Madame Giry who had opened the door to this world for me. But she could not show me much more than what she had until now. I needed more... and I understood that it was a chance for me. That God Himself had sent an angel to me.

To be honest, I had done nothing to be rewarded like this. I had not deserved an angel... but I could not say no to such an offer. I needed my angel. I needed someone who would understand me... because I no longer knew if I could trust Meg or Madame, although I loved them so much. Because of all that had happened, I felt truly disappointed and deceived. As I thought of it, guilt began biting my heart and mind, but I did my best to hush this feeling – and the fact that my dreams were now coming true helped a lot.

It was already early in the morning when I at last managed to have some sleep. However, Meg soon barged in and I could not rest much longer.

"Come, come, Arlette!" she said, and I could recognise that tone of her voice: she was for some reason excited. And to be honest, whenever she was excited, I could feel the same way, for I knew it would be something interesting.

It was not too difficult to make Meg elated but the way she let me know about different things, even if they were rather plain, was so sweet I could not help but find interesting aspects in the most boring of all things.

Slowly, I got up and with Meg's help I dressed up. Despite my being this tired, I felt happiness that had nothing to do with what my friend said or how she behaved. At first, I was not quite sure whether it was not just a dream. However, I could remember that sweet voice that caressed my ears, that voice that made me shiver and breathe heavily.

It could be called obsession, but it was not quite like that. It was more like... falling in love at first sight – but in this case there was no sight. I had no idea what my angel looked like – and I wondered whether he had seen me back then. For if he was an angel, he could not have a real body; he must have been more like a ghost or something like that, or at least that was what an angel was to me. Therefore I was not quite sure whether something not truly material could see anything the way we, mortals, do.

When Meg saw me trying to brush my hair properly, she sighed and took care of me the way it should be done. I was quite certain that she had already noticed I had not slept well that night, but she did not ask.

Well, it was not something strange to me, after all – I had left her in such a situation the previous evening that I felt it was enough of an explanation to her; she would not have to ask about anything else. Or at least I guess that was what she thought. No matter what the reason was, though, I could not complain. Somehow I did not feel in the right mood to explain her anything – besides, I could not tell her anything. I had given my word no-one would ever get to know... and Meg could not be an exception.

"You look terrible," she commented, looking at me with worry as she finished her job. Despite the fact I was now properly dressed and had my hair brushed, apparently, I did not look too well. And I was not even surprised: there was no way I could look well after an hour or two of sleep while I should have had a night full of rest.

On the other hand, though, I was happy. If I had a choice – to be well rested or to be sure that I had met my angel, I would never choose the first one. The events from the previous night filled me with joy I had never known before. But it was not only happiness; it was also hope and serenity I needed most.

"But I feel wonderful," I responded and there was no lie in what I had said. Although I had slept better as of late than the previous night, I had been feeling terrible. Now, I had to admit I was actually better than well.

"You don't have to pretend, Arlette," she answered, taking my hand and leading me out of my room. "I am sure what happened yesterday was a great shock to you... and I can't even be surprised. I would be just as anxious if it was all about me."

Suddenly, the happenings of the previous days seemed to have been something so unimportant... as if it had all happened not several days ago, but at least ten years ago. Now, I felt I had a chance to start anew.

"I still don't know too much," I replied after a while, frowning, as a deep sigh left my lips. "What I know is that the director wanted me to take part in that audition... because if I didn't, he would be in danger. And if I do, Madame thinks I could be in danger, yes? And they know it all because of some letters that were sent to them from a certain someone, apparently one and the same person..."

Meg bit her bottom lip and nodded. It was obvious she was fighting with herself – it looked like she wanted to tell me but was afraid of what her mother would say. Because Madame's suspicions were often true. No wonder she trusted her so much.

"Listen, Arlette, I don't quite know how much I could tell you," she confessed at last. It seemed she was now hesitant whether she should lead me on or just stop right there, in the middle of the corridor. "You already know much more than my mother wanted you to learn. But at first it was just a bedstory for you. Neither of us could expect that it would turn out to be true once more. Not now..."

"You keep getting that story involved in the whole situation," I noticed, feeling a blush creeping all over my face. "I do want to know why."

At last she came to a halt and let out a deep sigh. Looking around, she checked that we were completely alone before she started talking.

"Because it's happening again," she whispered. "It's come full circle now... just..."

"You want to tell me that the very same story you told me when I was little is happening to me right now?" I asked, hoping she did not hear that tone of fear in my voice. Besides, I was afraid I would hurt her with this question.

Meg lowered her sight and wrapped her arms around herself, wanting to comfort herself and calm down. At the same time, I felt like hugging her, but I could not bring myself to do it. And it was not her fault.

I was simply terrified. I could listen to certain stories, but I did not want to be a part of them. I was no heroine. The main character should be beautiful and wise... and I was just a simple eighteen year old girl who had grown up in the world of dreams, hoping they would come true one day.

Apparently, though, those wishes do come true... but it is not as wonderful as it would seem to be.

However, before Meg could answer, I felt a familiar touch on my shoulder.

"I told you something about scaring Arlette, Meg," Madame scolded her daughter as she pulled me with herself, away from my friend. I could catch a glimpse of her worried face before my guard led me down another corridor.

I knew this way perfectly – just the previous day I had used it with Meg when we had gone to listen to the girls at the audition.

"Ma'am," I started, but she hushed me with just one motion of her hand. I could not understand anything and her face told me nothing. She was sometimes so much unlike her daughter whom I could understand perfectly.

I was not quite sure whether she was wondering what to tell me or there was another reason of her silence, but at last, she opened her mouth.

"Meg shouldn't have told you anything," she said quietly, doing her best to sound calm, but I had a feeling I could recognise a worried note in her voice. "She does not know as much as I do, and her information is not quite full... however... I do know she's just worried about you, and I can understand it. I am just as worried."

We stopped right in front of the door leading to the rehearsal room, but I could not hear even one sound coming from there.

"I tried to protect you, but I see now the more I try, the worse it gets... and since it's about you now, you deserve to know what it means to you..."

"I've heard that if... if I do take part in this audition, I might get hurt. And if I don't, the director will get into trouble," I cut in, unable to bite my tongue. Now even the thought of my angel could not calm me down enough to keep me quiet.

Madame gently patted my cheek, as if trying to scold me and tell me everything would be alright at the same time.

"Do not panic. It's not as terrible as it would seem," she assured me, and the tone of her voice betrayed she was certain of it. "It might sound like a horror story, but it's not. We are still talking about a person. A human."

It sounded to me as if she had though I would have expected a supernatural power... and in a way I had. At least I was not quite sure whether I had expected it to be just a person. Or maybe just one person...

"It's a man, Arlette," she continued after a longer while. Her face was pale and she did not look directly into my eyes as she spoke. "But a very specific man. Everything about him is... extraordinary. He is an artist and a genius... and I respect him as such... but he has already proven that his... his feelings and behaviour are not human. What he feels and does could not be understood by anyone but him."

Still, there was not much of explanation in Madame's words, even though this story was a fascinating one. I was certain this man, whoever he was, had to be a very special person... and I had a feeling despite her words, Madame knew him very well. She might have just told me that no-one could understand him... but she was very close to that.

"Why is it so important for me to know what he is like?" I asked slowly.

"Because I am not sure what he will do now," she replied, shaking her head. "He is capable of... of amazing things. Wonderful as well as terrible. He will not hesitate... he has done awful things because of this. It is easy to hurt him – and he will act hastily if someone happens to hurt him... so it is very important to be careful while around him."

It sounded like I needed to get to know him if I was to continue my life there. I still could not grasp why it was so very important. For a moment I even thought that it would be him standing behind that door... but when she pushed it, there was no-one else but the director himself. He smiled at me softly and gestured at me to come in.

What would happen now? I had to admit, I was scared and nervous, besides, around the man I did not know well, I felt rather shy.

"Do not be afraid, my child," he spoke, trying to calm me down, but I heard a rather hysteric tone in his voice. No wonder, after what I had heard the previous evening – something bad could happen to him if something went wrong...

It turned out to be nothing but a simple audition – just the same the other girls had gone through the day before. I saw Madame's worried face as she looked at me and listened to me singing. My voice trembled and I could swear I could faint at any moment, but somehow that did not happen.

It did not last long; maybe a quarter of an hour. After that time, I approached Madame once more. I needed to know why she wanted me to know what this man she had been talking abou was like. After all, I did not even realise who he was, and why he was involved in this whole situation. From what I knew, this man and I had never met before.

"But you will certainly meet," she explained, and a strange shadow passed through her face. "I am sure of that, even though I would rather wish for that not to happen. He might hurt you if you are not careful enough."

"But why? Ma'am, I don't even think he's the one to say anything... is he not... just a random person? Isn't it the director to choose the cast..."

Madame smiled faintly as she shook her head.

"No, Arlette. This man... he believes he owns this place. And everyone inside."


	7. Mezza voce

I had to admit that I was truly surprised by all of that. I had no idea how to react, what to say or think. Standing there, right before Madame, I stared at one point in front of me, doing my best to wrap my mind around the information I had just got. No wonder she had been hiding it all away from me; she might have suspected I would not be able to understand it all, and she had not been that far from the truth.

So there was a man... who believed he was the owner of the building and its staff. He was a man who could react hastily and even cruelly to the point when people were scared of him... I wondered if he had actually killed someone before if the director was so anxious about his own life... and Madame was worried about me.

Was I even allowed to ask any further questions? I was not quite sure, however, I did feel I needed to know more. Why was it all about me? What had made Madame think that I was the one in danger? Why that man had chosen me to take part in the audition? There was no chance we had met before... besides, the only person who had ever heard me sing was Meg, and I could not believe it would be her. Not to mention, Madame had said it clearly: it was not a woman, but a man. And I had not met many men in my life.

I opened and closed my mouth over and over again, like a fish that had been taken out of the water, not knowing if I was allowed to say anything, and even if so, what I should say – or what should I ask about.

"Why is it about me, then?" I managed at last, feeling my lips tremble, just as well as my voice. My heart kept pounding in my chest, breath hitched every now and then, making me feel dizzy. "There are so many other people in this building. Other dancers. Other singers. So many more important people..."

The woman before me had never looked this old. I knew she was not a young person, but for the first time I was under the impression she had grown old in a very short period of time. Was it all because of me...?

"I am... not sure about it, not yet," she replied at last, closing her eyes. I had a feeling that the director was watching us, but I could not care about it at that moment. "But... I do have a feeling... that there is a reason... a more of a... personal reason in it."

Suddenly, I felt as if the air around us had gotten strangely cold, even though I was sure the temperature was still the same.

"What do you mean?" I asked in a whisper.

"I have seen it before," she answered, wrapping one arm around me as she led me to the chair nearby. We both took a seat and she sighed quietly before continuing. "I got... a letter from him. And so did Monsieur Barnard."

Her eyes met the director's, but he immediately lowered his sight, as if pretending he had not listened to our conversation.

"Apparently... something has caught his attention. Something I did not know about... and had I known, I would have stopped it immediately... or maybe not. Because I could not consider it... I may have known him, but it does not mean I can read his mind."

It was obvious she was troubled right now, and it made me feel guilty, however, her words had made it no clearer to me. I did not have a courage to ask, though, but after a longer while she decided to go on.

"Do you... remember the story about the Opera Ghost I and Meg told you in your childhood?" she asked, and I nodded without hesitation. It was one of my favourite stories – so romantic, and yet, so tragic. "Well then... it's good, because it is the very same story I am going to tell you right now."

My fingers curled and I shivered lightly. Madame saw that, and frowned slightly, but did not react any further.

"In fact, all of it did not happen too long ago. To you it may be a long time, but to me... or to him... There was a singer, her name was Christine. Her voice was one of an angel and it caught his attention for he is a great artist... and there is nothing he loves more than music. This voice... made him sure he wants her to give life to his music. So he began to teach her... and one day, she performed on the stage. He loved her... in his own way... more and more. But she could not return this feeling. She was in love with a young man she knew. It could not end well. For his... his love is obsessive and possessive. He would do everything to keep the one he loves with him. And so he tried to make Christine his bride... but she refused. Her fiancé took her with him... and the Opera Ghost had to hide so he would not be killed. I was sure he has left... but this letter told me he is still down there."

Since I knew all of it must have happened before I had come here, it would mean this story was at least ten years old. Ten years! All this time the Ghost had been hiding away from the world... that no-one had caught him!

I was not quite sure what I would hear now, but I suddenly realised I might regret the fact I heard the story. My curiosity was much stronger than this fear, though, and I simply stayed there to continue listening to Madame's words.

"In this letter... he reminds me about himself. Apparently he wants to... return to his – let's call it – job. As he wrote, something had caught his... well, maybe not eye, but his ear. He had heard some wonderful song, and soon, he had learnt that it was you, Arlette."

Never before had I felt this bashful. My cheeks turned red and I looked away, even though Madame seemed to try to keep our eye contact.

Until now, I had been sure no-one but Meg had known about my little lessons. And yet... some strange man had heard me, too, and he had even written a letter to Madame and the director about it. Moreover, he had told them I had a wonderful voice... it was all written by the very man who had discovered one of the most famous singers of our times. Because I knew the story was about Christine Daaé, the very same soprano that everyone knew.

And I could not help but notice that if only her voice and mine had caught his attention... it would mean I really could sing well.

"Do not look away from me now, Arlette," I could hear scolding in Madame's voice, so I forced myself to look up and meet her gaze again. My body was trembling as I did so, and I had to take a deep breath to try to calm down.

I am almost certain that Madame noticed the hesitation in my eyes, but she did not make any comment about that.

"I need to know if you talked to this man," she said in a serious tone. "I need to know everything."

There was no man I had talked to as of late – not anyone I would have not known – and I told Madame about it without hesitation. This time she believed me, I am sure of that, and it apparently calmed her down.

"He... is a good man," she added after a while, "but it's difficult to understand him. And he... he has never been loved. I do not say it is impossible... but no-one has ever achieved that, and I guess this is his only true wish."

For a moment, I remained completely speechless. This comment was so strange to me that I could not find any proper words to be spoken at that moment. What did Madame expect me to do? Or what did she not want me to do?

Once again that day I felt dizzy. All I wanted to do was to disappear. To close my eyes and hear my angel's voice once more, caressing me like a lover's hand... I just wanted to hear him utter my own name...

"You must promise me you will be careful."

Madame's voice cut the silence like a knife and it forced me out of my wonderful dreams. For a moment I was afraid that I had fallen asleep, but after that, I made sure not more than two seconds had passed.

"Careful?" I repeated, and my eyebrows went up as I glanced at Madame. "But why? A- and how? What should I do?"

"It is your choice what you decide to do," she replied at last. For the first time I was completely certain that she would allow me to make my own choices. However, at the same time, that unpleasant feeling slapped me – she gave up on protecting me, and I was afraid that she thought she was no longer capable of it. I was now out of her reach.

I needed to grow up – just like I had thought – but what had seemed to be so beautiful when I had just told it to myself, now, as I realised that it was not just a wish but reality, turned out to be cold and terrifying.

"He will come to you, I am sure. Because I am certain you will choose to sing. It is your chance, Arlette, and there may never be another one. No young girl would ever go any other way if she had a chance of becoming a great diva. And I shall not try to stop you again. Not anymore, Arlette... you deserve that. I just want you to know that you need to be careful if he comes to meet you. Remember... that your every promise may turn into the worst of curses. Think of it twice before you say anything."

This warning was a strange one, but I nodded as a sign that I understood what she had said. Nevertheless, I felt even more nervous.

"But why would he come to meet me? Is it not enough for him... that if I get the role... I will sing?" I asked.

Madame smiled lightly and patted my cheek in a motherly way.

"It is never that simple, my child," she responded after a moment. "You see... he is not that kind of man. As I said... there is nothing he would ever love more than music. And if there is someone that will make his music real..."

She stopped, but she did not have to finish that sentence. Did it mean that he would fall in love with me just because I had a voice that pleased him? Was it not insane? How would he know if we would be able to live together? To stand each other...?

"I understand," I whispered only, realising my hands had already turned into fists. My fingers hurt, so I needed to straighten them as I took another deep breath, but it was not enough to make me any calmer.

Then it could be a curse to me if I chose to sing. But it was probably my only chance and I could not resign... It was something I had been dreaming of, how could I give up on my dreams so easily if they were coming true?

Slowly, I got up to return to Meg, to tell her everything, because I felt like she needed some explanation as well – she had been just as surprised as I had been, but I had heard everything I had to while she had not.

On the other hand, she had been there when all of that had taken place. From what I know, she had once been Christine's friend...

Suddenly, I felt sick to the stomach and I swayed on my legs, slowly turning to look at Madame. There were so many questions I wanted answered at that moment, but it was already too much for me to take – and I had a feeling that Madame had already gone through too much as well. This conversation was a difficult one to both of us.

"How will I know it's him, though?" I stuttered after a while, knowing that although she had told me that the Ghost would come to meet me, she had not mentioned what he looked like... or how to distinguish him from any other man.

Madame remained silent for a while before she opened her mouth.

"He will hide in the shadows... if you see him, he will wear a mask," she responded just as quietly, probably not to let the director hear.

I nodded and turned to leave but just one more sentence reached my ears.

"And he will introduce himself as the Angel of Music."


	8. Crescendo

Those words echoed in my mind persistently, making me feel sick; I had no idea what to think of it now. Somehow, it seemed to be impossible, but soon, I learnt that it was _not_ impossible but I did want it to be such. It would be an answer to all of my questions, after all, or at least to the majority of them.

There was a person living beneath the building; there was a way he could listen to the sounds coming from the inside – and that would be how he had heard my voice. At last, he had decided to meet me – and so he had done, deceiving me, not telling me the truth. However, I had to admit he had done it well enough not to make me suspect anything. Maybe it was me being naive. Or maybe he was a good actor.

But this voice... although the man Madame had told me about terrified me... the voice I had heard could not scare me; it was so sweet I could only wish to hear it over and over again; it was sweeter than the most wonderful of sweets, softer than the sheets in the royal palace. It could only belong to an angel – and I did not believe that the man that had spoken to me could be a person as terrifying as the Opera Ghost.

And yet, this piece fit perfectly, no matter how much I would wish for it to be just my imagination. It was all too real. There was no way the person I had heard the previous night could be someone else than the one Madame had told me about.

In this case I realised that I could not tell Meg anything. If I betrayed that man... I would get both myself and my friend into some serious trouble. Besides, I did not want to break the promise, it was not the kind of a person I was. And I thought I was not ready to share such information with her.

Now, I needed some time to wrap my mind around it all. I needed to get used to the fact that there was a man who truly wanted to possess me to serve him... to create his music. That it was not a story, it was all happening right now.

Suddenly, I understood that the fairy tale that had fascinated me so much with its romanticism and sadness when I had been been a child, now terrified me as I came to realise the story had stepped out of a book. It was no longer a main character and his heroine... it was the Ghost and me. And I was not supposed to be a heroine.

To be completely honest, I wondered how far it had already gone. It could still be just a fascination – he might just want me to sing for him, just like it had been with Christine back then. But would it go further? Or had it already? I might have been amazed in my childhood, but now, as I had grown up, I was not quite sure whether I wanted such a man to love me. It would be insane... it could be either a blessing or a curse to me.

Right now, I decided I was not ready to find out. And I was not really sure whether I wanted to find out in the future...

Instead of going to get Meg, I took a shortcut. Right now, I felt sick, and even when I took a deep breath, I did not feel any better. Right now, I just wanted to lay down, to pretend nothing of that had actually happened.

But I knew it was impossible.

I did not even know when I had started running. I passed the corridors, catching air desperately into my lungs that soon began to hurt. As I burst into my room, I quickly locked the door behind myself, then leant back against it, closing my eyes and breathing heavily. After a while, I pressed my hands to my face.

"Please, please, let it be just a dream..." I prayed quietly as I slowly slid down to sit on the floor; my body was shaking as if I had caught a bad cold. "Let it be a dream... please... nothing of that... has actually happened..."

But as soon as I said that, some voice hit my ears, and I understood there was no coming back right now. It was already too late.

"What is wrong, my child...?" he spoke in a caring whisper, and I felt my body lose its resistance once more, just like the previous evening. I could not fight, no matter how hard I tried. "Has someone hurt you?"

I wanted to scream – that yes, yes, he had hurt me... but I could not reach my voice. Tears began rolling down my cheeks. I was trapped.

"No, Master," I responded even more quietly, looking around, but once again, his silhouette was nowhere to be seen.

Now, I understood what Madame had meant when she had said that he would be hiding in the shadows. At least I knew now that he was a real man... however, this information let me down a little. For a short while I had actually believed that he was a real angel. That he was a guard from the heavens above...

And as soon as I thought of Madame's words, I remembered what she had said about promising him anything. I should think twice before I gave him my word... just it was already too late. I had given myself to him blindly. No longer was I free; never had I been. At first, my mind had belonged to Madame. Now – to him. Just I knew I could trust Madame, but trusting him right now seemed to be nothing but madness.

But it was already done. I already belonged to him, and whatever he would say – I would do. I knew it. Even if I wanted, I would not be able to stand up to him. And although I knew I should want to... I realised I did not.

Why? I was not certain – maybe it had something to do with the voice that gave me so much pleasure. Or maybe it was because for some reason I actually felt safe with him, although there was probably no place less safe for me than there, with him.

"Then why are you crying?"

This question made me feel even worse. At the same time I wanted to shout out that I hated him that he had deceived him. That those tears had been caused by him... had I not got to known more about him, not even one tear of mine would have been shed. But it filled me up with so much guilt that I dared not say a word. I could only shake my head.

What was I supposed to say or do right now? At any moment of weakness I would have always had Meg by my side; she would have wrapped an arm around me, whispering sweet words into my ear and comforting me. But there was no Meg around, not this time. And she was not allowed to be there, otherwise something bad might happen to her. She had been protecting me until now. Now, it was my turn to protect her.

"I have... just got to know things I am not sure I wanted to know," I began to explain myself. With a swift motion of my hand, I wiped my tears away, suddenly embarrassed with them. "I thought I wanted... and I kept asking... then I got my answers. But they... they were not what I had thought they would be. Instead of making me feel better they made me feel sick. That... that is the reason for my tears."

He sighed, and if a sound could touch, I would say this sigh embraced me. Just like Meg would... to soothe my nerves. No longer was I afraid. Although he might be just a human, I would swear I could feel his angel wings wrapped around me, letting me feel warm and safe. He was my guardian angel.

"Sometimes you shouldn't know," he replied in the same consoling tone. Right now, he could tell me anything he wanted, even the worst of lies, even words full of poison, and yet, I would believe him. "Sometimes, you should just let someone lead you. Just close your eyes and follow me. Don't think of the world that surrounds you – it's all lies. Everything you have seen until now, everything they've told you... nothing of it is real. But I could show you the truth. I could show you the real beauty."

His voice was magic. There was nothing else he would have to do to convince me. Yes, it was a venom that he had already put into my veins, and it was running right through my body, poisoning my mind. But it was a sweet poison. It eased every pain. Even if his words were lies, I preferred them to the painful truth.

I guess I was simply too tired. Right now, I needed something that would make it all simpler than what I had experienced throughout those days.

"Where does the real beauty lie?" I asked only, slowly getting up. If he wanted to lead me, I would go with him. That was what I wanted right now; he would teach me, and I wanted to learn, leaving the world I had known until now behind myself.

Call me insane, but I was weak, and he was really convincing. I could not stand up to him, I could not fight. Whatever he would command, I would do – and it would seem to be a wonderful idea to me.

"To see the real beauty, you need to close your eyes... to abandon the light your life has got you used to... because the real beauty lies down there, in the dark," he answered, and I did not even notice when he had started to sing. It was something so natural that I could not even imagine him saying that any other way.

Having taken a deep breath, I closed my eyes once more and delicate darkness enveloped me like a soft, silken coat. I was not afraid. It was not a bad darkness, nothing could hurt me in it. No-one but my angel could see me now.

In this state, it was not difficult for me to follow his voice; my senses were now focused upon him. Never before had my hearing been this sharp – they caught his every breath, leading me straight into his grasp.

Yes, I understood that was where I belonged – I belonged right there, with him, in the darkness that was wrapped around him. He would lead me through it as long as it would take for my eyes to get used to it... or my hearing would get so sharp that I would no longer need my sight. And it did not seem to be anything bad.

I believed he would protect me now, holding me hidden in his arms, where no-one else could find me.

"I am your angel," he murmured like a spell and soon it was cast upon me. If I had still hesitated, this one sentence had made me abandon this feeling. "Come to me, Angel of Music. I am your Angel of Music..."

The touch on my hand was something definitely material – it was no longer his voice and my imagination, but a real touch. In surprise, I opened my eyes just to see darkness around me as a tall man right before me pulled me through the narrow corridors I had never seen before.

At last, some light danced upon his figure, and I noticed a dark coat upon his broad shoulders and black hair, but his face remained hidden in the shadows. The hand that kept holding mine was gloved, but I could feel its warmth. His grip was strong and steady, and I felt so little and inconspicuous compared to him.

He was what I would call a complete difference of an angel, but he made me feel safe and special. And if that was not what an angel should do – then what was?

The corridors soon became broader and the candles on the walls made them brighter. My angel was no longer looming before me, but I could see his silhouette perfectly now, even though it was not really bright in there. Still, I was unable to see his face that fascinated me most right now. I did not even know why; however, it seemed to be only natural that a face of an angel should be a sheer beauty, and I wanted to experience it. I wanted to see it.

But he would not even turn in my direction. His steps were long and fast, and I had to run to keep up the pace, but it was not difficult nor tiring to me. My eyes remained fixed on his head, catching the profile of his face every now and then.

"Sing for me," he begged quietly as we reached a vast lake. Never before had I thought that such a lake could exist under the ground. It surprised me so much that I lost the chance of catching a glimpse of his face when he helped me into a little boat. As he made sure I was safely seated in it, he got in as well and using a long pole, he pushed the boat away from the shore. Candlelight glistened on the water table – still until now, but the boat's motion stirred it a bit. "Sing for me," he repeated, this time louder.

Once again, I did not even try to fight; I just opened my mouth and started singing. My own voice surprised me; never had it been this sweet, this full of life and energy. However, I had a feeling it could be like that only entwined with my angel's voice. The more he begged for me to continue, the more passion I put into my singing. My heart seemed to ache from how much I felt. And I did not even know _what_ I felt...

And then, everything stopped. The boat reached the opposite shore as my own voice echoed in what seemed to be a grand cave – but it was much more than that. It was a real kingdom created from stone.

The man left the boat and reached his hand out to me; I placed my own upon his so he could help me get up and out onto the shore. I was trembling... but I could not see his reaction as he remained turned away from me.

"Welcome," he said with some obsessive pride in his voice, "to my Kingdom of Music."


	9. Piano ed appassionato

Never before had I felt this way. And never before had I been in a place like this. Somehow both of those thoughts were somehow connected – probably because I was simply fascinated by where I was now. I could see something that looked a bit like great paintings, but they were all hidden behind thick, heavy curtains, and I dared not walk any closer to them – all I could notice were beautiful frames around them. Besides them, there were so many things... one could say nothing was on its right place, but truth be told, to me it looked like it could be placed nowhere else, even though it did seem to be a little bit of a mess.

Not far from the shore there was an old desk with many strange things on it – starting with piles of parchment and bottles of ink and ending with what looked like heads made of marble or something like that. All of those strange sculptures were masked and looked just as amazing as eerie, so I quickly turned my face away from them. My angel did not seem to have noticed that, though, and I sighed with relief.

Glancing just above his shoulder, there was some musical instrument, probably a harpsichord, but from where I stood I could not see it well enough to be sure. And once again, there were piles of paper placed all over it. Some of the sheets were also as if tossed to cover the floor like a specific carpet.

Everything in this room was glowing almost magically. This light came from many a candle placed everywhere. There were so many of them that actually some spots looked as if they were covered in wax.

Wherever I was, it was a definitely uncanny place. I could hear the soft sound of water hitting the shore and the boat we had just left. The man right before me moved so silently that if I was not sure he had just been holding my hand, I would be sure that he truly was some kind of an angel... or maybe a ghost...

My heart kept pounding as I turned around. There were actually no walls, no floor – it was all just a cave. And somehow I could not imagine it could have been any other way. This man... he would never fit to a place that did not look like this one.

My angel took his cloak off and turned in my direction. For the first time in my life I could see his face.

But it was nothing like what I had been prepared for. Yes, of course; Madame had warned me that not only would he be hiding in the shadows, but also that he would wear a mask. And so he did... it hid the majority of his face, but I could see thin lips, now formed in some specific kind of a smile. I could catch a glimpse of his eyes, glistening strangely as he looked at me with pride, like a child who waited for a compliment...

What was I supposed to say? I was afraid of spoiling this silence that suited a place like this. Every, even the most quiet, sound seemed to be a roar, and I did not want to sound rough with my words. On the other hand, I had a feeling that my companion waited for me to speak up. However, although I did open my mouth, not even one sound left it.

It was truly his kingdom. It could be heaven or hell... just like he could be a blessing or a curse. And it was only my choice which I would choose... still, I was not quite sure how to make that choice.

"You shall help me," he whispered into my ear. Until now I had not noticed that he had creeped just behind me – and yet, he had not made even one quick motion. His movements were just as quiet as the wind. My eyelids fluttered as I felt his gloved hands finding mine. This touch, just like his voice, could not belong to a mortal man. There was not much lie in the name he had given himself.

He truly was the Angel of Music.

I did not understand his words. What should I help him with? He had told me to follow his commands so he would be able to teach me, and I was ready for that. However, I had no idea how I could help someone who was so much more experienced than I was.

Shivering, I realised I had closed my eyes. It was safe with him right behind me; I needed not be afraid.

There was no reason for me to trust him – I had heard about his awful deeds from the past, and yet, somehow, his presence made it so easy for me to be with him. I could not imagine for it to be any other way. There was nowhere else I could be at that moment but right there, with him holding my hands...

His torso was now pressed up against my back as he leant his head, burying his masked face in my hair. It was as if he wanted to experience me being there with his every sense: his sight, hearing, touch, smell... and I did not bother fighting. Any attempt would be meaningless; my mind would beat against my acts.

"What shall I help you with, Master?" I asked almost in a whisper, and my voice sounded strange, echoing in the room.

"Creating my music," he answered almost immediately, yet without any redundant haste. It was simply a natural response to my words. "You shall stay here, with me. And I will protect you. The world above shall no longer possess you. They have never appreciated the treasure they had... so I shall take care of you now."

One of his hands left mine and I could feel it caress my cheek. I shivered lightly. Only now did I realise I did not even know this man. What if he tried to hurt me? He had hurt many before me – he was a master of illusion. He could just deceive me and once I trusted him blindly, he could do any harm he wanted to me.

However, at the same time, I had a feeling that he would never want to hurt me. For some reason he had done all of this for me. And no mortal man would ever be able to create such a feeling in another's heart – that feeling of serenity. Safety. Happiness. Yes, all of them were true, even though they differed from what I had known.

Then, what if he was not an angel? If not an angel: then what? Because he did not seem to be a demon. He could not be a demon...

A sigh escaped my chest against my own will; I did not want him to know how happy I was with him. If he got to know about that, he might think I would stay with him forever in this underground palace. And yet, I knew I belonged to the world above. I wanted to sing. I wanted to serve to the music he loved so much...

Still, I did realise that I had already promised myself to him. If he told me to stay there, with him, for eternity, I would not be able to say no.

Now I finally understood why Madame had told me to be careful with my promises. Now, as he had me in his power, he would be able to do anything to me. He would be able to force me to do anything for him.

"Close your eyes," he commanded once he noticed I had raised my eyelids, shocked at my sudden realisation – which should not be that sudden or that surprising. "Close your eyes... for only in your darkness you shall be able to see the true beauty. Listen... listen to its quiet sounds... let it whisper sweetly... let it caress you like nothing has ever caressed you before..."

Before I noticed that, his hands began to roam across my body. But it did not seem to be indecent: he was like a blind who tried to learn the one next to him by heart. Somehow, I knew he would not do anything improper... and yet, I did know that what he had already done was far from proper. I should have never allowed him to touch me: I was a young woman, he was a man... and we were completely alone.

But fighting with him at that moment seemed to be pointless. His gloved fingers hardly ever grazed against my naked skin – and even when they did, it seemed to be accidental, despite his motions being so careful. As if he was afraid that his touch, no matter how gentle it was, could hurt me, shatter me... as if I was made not from flesh but from something much more fragile. Maybe even mist...

"You belong in here, my child," he continued. His voice was like a poison that slowly entered my body and now was running through my veins. Soon, I would believe it myself. That I should have never belonged to the world of day. "With me... with my music. I shall teach you, and you shall do whatever I ask you for. But you will learn that my commands are not that terrifying. You will see they will make you happy..."

Only then did I notice that some of the sheets of paper on the ground were actually drawings. And all of them... showed the very same person.

Me.

It was all me. Me glancing through the window. Me walking down the corridor, my face shadowed with thought. Me singing to myself. Me sitting in the little chapel and praying, my eyes set upon the painting of an angel.

The Angel of Music, I thought at that moment.

All of the drawings looked like moments frozen in time. I was certain he must have been there back then. They were not his imagination... somehow, he had managed to find me in all those situations and that was how he had had me for himself until now.

I wanted to follow his command and close my eyes once more, but that was when I saw one more picture.

It was a woman – once I looked at her face, there was no doubt it was me again. However, this time it was not something that had already happened, for it was me in a wedding gown. My face was full of rapture as I glanced at the man standing next to me. But while my figure was painted carefully, the man next to me was nothing but a rough sketch. Trying not to move, I did my best to get to know who this man was... but he had no face. Right where his head should be, there was a dark stain, apparently made of ink.

I felt a strange sensation in my stomach. Was... was it him? Had he already imagined our wedding day, even though it was the very first moment he could actually hold me? The second time he had ever talked to me?

Yes, his love could be obsessive – right now I was almost certain he was in love with me. But I began feeling terrified. Never would there be a place I could run away from him. He would find me anywhere. No longer did I belong to myself – he owned all of me, with my body, mind and soul. And it would always be like this.

"You will serve my music," he whispered again. Until now, I had almost forgotten about his presence. He had never stopped touching me, and now his arms were wrapped around me tightly... and yet so gently. He did not try to hurt me. This gesture was defiantly a protective one; never would he ever let me go. "You will serve me, my child... my beautiful Arlette... you have been created to be mine."

Tears appeared in my eyes. Had I...? And if I had not – then why did it all feel so right? Even though it scared me out of my mind...

"Our minds are entwined... our heart beat in the same rhythm, creating the very same melody," he continued as my eyelids fell down, and I could feel a lone tear rolling down my cheek. However, he failed to notice it.

Have we not been created to be together, I thought, I would have already tried to fight. To run away. I would have never promised to be his. And yet... yet, here I am. I let him touch me. I let him whisper things into my ear, and I shiver every time he says my name.

"Please," I begged quietly, and although for a moment I thought I would ask him for it all to stop, I said only, "Please, say it again... my name... say it again, Master."

Although I could not see his face, I would have sworn he smiled. Leaning in, he placed a delicate kiss upon my head, then his lips grazed against my ear as he whispered.

"Arlette..."

My heart skipped a beat – and the next thing I remember was deep, impenetrable darkness.


	10. Cavatina

No, there was no way she could ever leave him – and he would make sure of it. Now, as he had her in his arms, completely limp, he could feel the power he had over her. She was completely his – just as he had always wanted, since the moment he had first heard her sing. And just like she had promised.

Making sure she was safe in his arms, he picked her up and placed a delicate kiss on her temple. She was an angel to him, the most blessed sacredness. That was why he would praise her from now on, instead of letting the world of the day taint her. Because if they had had her for such a long time and no-one had noticed that she truly was a gem amongst stones... it was the right time for him to start protecting her.

A little smile graced his lips as he brought her to the other room and placed her carefully in a grand bed. Oh, how much would he give to be there with her... but it had to wait. She would not be tainted. And he would not be the one to put his finger upon her against her own will.

Once he was certain nothing would disturb her sleep, he quietly left the room.

* * *

With a deep sigh, the man sat down at the desk and brought a piece of paper a bit closer to him. The smile upon his lips never fainted; moreover, it seemed to get even brighter. As he reached for a quill, he frowned a bit, thinking, then began writing.

He wondered whether the woman would be surprised to get the letter – he was sure she had been expecting it for a while now. Especially when she had got the first note after such a long time... She had probably thought he was dead. But he would not die so easily – and now he felt even more alive than ever.

Having ended, he sighed and sealed the note, then stood up to go and deliver it right to her own room.

* * *

It was in the chapel where he first saw her. She was beautiful. Her voice had been echoing through the underground corridors for many days now, and as he had decided to emerge from nothingness and hide in the shadows of the world of day, he could at last admire her beauty.

She sat there in her humble dress; its sleeve had slid down her arm a bit and he could see the fair skin of her shoulder. Oh, how much he dreamt to be the one to touch it, to kiss it, to praise her the way she should be praised...

Her hair was like liquid gold, skin as fair as a marble. Her eyes were closed for now, but he could notice long, dark lashes adorning the lids... He would leave kisses as soft as the wind upon them should she only let him...

Oh, was she a true treasure. How was it possible they had not noticed it until now. How was it possible they had not dressed her in the most beautiful of gowns and had not placed diamonds on her neck... Sapphires should have been braided into her golden locks, and there should be pearls on her hands.

And yet, instead of that, she sat there like a simple orphan, in a grey dress, with no jewels, and her hair let loose, flowing down onto her shoulders and back. There was so much he would have given up on if he only had that one chance of sliding his fingers into those beautiful curls, of taking one deep breath of air filled with her scent...

Her song ended. Understanding that she would soon leave the chapel, he dared no longer stay in there, afraid of losing her if she noticed him. Soon... soon she would belong to him. Soon, she would serve him.

Soon, but still not now.

* * *

The woman's hand trembled as she reached for the note left on the nightstand. Had she not expected that? It would be a lie to say so, and yet, she had hoped all this time that he would not do that. That this one time he would think of the girl's safety... of her well being...

But he was selfish, of course he would think rather of himself. Besides, what he thought would be good for the girl was something else than what any other living person would think of. And she could not blame him for that...

A deep sigh left her lips as she put the paper aside and leant her head heavily on her hand. He had taken her... and there was no going back now.

She had made the promise.

* * *

 **A/N:** Alright, so I guess the story's going on somehow :) I am sorry if I slowed down with the other fanfics... but at the moment, I feel this one best, and I hope you do like it. I am going to update it as often as I can. Please, review, I would like to know what I should fix and what I should continue.

Also, if you read the rest of my stories... please, vote in the poll I created. Thank you!


	11. Deciso ma non tanto

Truly, I had no idea what time it was when I woke up; in this place, it was almost always dark and gloomy; only the candlelight danced on the walls, making everything look completely surreal. I wondered how it was possible that he had lived there for so long. It was certainly a magical place, but somehow I could not imagine living there for a longer time, especially completely alone. And yet, he had survived. Moreover, he seemed to love it so much more than the outside world I was so used to live in.

My head ached; there was a pulsating pain in my temple, and I massaged it lightly with my fingers as I sat up and looked around.

It was not the place I remembered from the previous day. Actually, I realised I could not remember it at all, and it made me feel quite nervous. Why was I there? Who had brought me in there if I had not made this way myself...?

The answer to the latter came almost immediately. It must have been him... the Angel. And along with that thought came the memories from the previous evening. Those pictures I had seen... it must have been them that made me this shocked. I probably had fainted once I had realised how far it had already got in his head, despite the fact we did not really know each other. And it surely was love...

It would be a lie to say I did not want to love or be loved. Every young girl dreams about such things, and I was not different. However, now, as I already knew that there was someone who loved me, but in such a way... no, I did not want to be an object of such an obsessive love. I did not want to wake such feelings in anyone's heart.

Was there a way to escape? Or had I already locked this cage myself, telling him I would stay with him? That I would do whatever he asked me of? Or maybe he did have enough mercy to let me go if I asked him...?

However, when I thought of it, I felt even more sick. I was afraid of his reactions, for Madame had told me he could be impulsive – what if, in his jealousy, he would hurt me, once he got to know that I wanted to leave? And then, there was another thing: I really did appreciate his help, and I wanted to learn. Would I be able to break his heart in such a cruel way? Would I be able to see him sad? And would he be still willing to teach me after that...?

Leaving now seemed to be the best choice right now – for now, he was still not used to my presence there. He should not plan his future with me there, in his kingdom, and the sooner it was finished, the better for both of us.

Slowly, I stood up. I still felt quite dizzy after the previous day, so I did not make any step right after. Instead, I took a deep breath to calm down and looked around the room I had been placed in.

It was a rather great hall, just like the previous one, without real walls and floor – it was a cave, just a little bit smaller than the one I had already seen. This one seemed to be closed, but there was no door – in its place, there was a heavy, crimson curtain that blocked the way. Also, it lacked those strange hidden paintings, so I could not get to know what they showed and why the Angel had covered them.

Clearly, it was a sleeping chamber, for there was a grand bed I had lied in. Only then did I notice that there was a canopy right above it, and what made me slightly anxious was the fact that it seemed as if it had been made of some black lacy shroud. I had no idea where this thought came from, so I quickly turned my sight away.

I understood that right now I should find the Angel and talk to him. There was no possibility I could stay with him... not because it was not a beautiful place, but because I was not able to survive cut away from the world I knew so well.

And right when I began pondering upon where I could find him (I still did not know how this kingdom was built, how many rooms there were and where they were placed), something came to my ears. A sweet, delicate sound. But this time, it was not his voice; it was a sound of some instrument, and when I focused more, I realised that it must have been the harpsichord I had seen the previous day.

However, I soon noticed that my Angel was not just playing it. Every now and then he made a break, and then, he repeated the same phrase over and over again, and I could hear subtle changes in the harmony.

He was composing.

Although I knew I should not disturb him, my curiosity was pretty strong and I wished I could just come a little bit closer, listen to him and watch him work. But if I did that, how would I be able to find enough courage to become even bolder and talk to him about my departure? Or, what would be even worse, would I still be able to leave?

I knew the power he had over me; what scared me, was the thought of him being able to create a melody that would capture me just the way his voice had... that once again I would not be able to tell him no. And if he had already done it, if he did this once more, would there be a moment when it did not work on me?

Yes, I could try to run away, but I was not sure how. Hardly did I remember the way we had made the previous evening to get into his kingdom – besides, I could still see the gate that cut my way out. I would definitely need to know more of this place – and if so, it would mean I needed to spend more time here, with him. And once I did gather enough information... would I still be willing to leave?

It all scared me so much... and yet, all of this fear seemed to be disappearing as I listened to the sweet tune. It was as if he was telling me not to worry... there needed to be a way for me to survive it... on the other hand, though, this way could not be me leaving this place – but rather learning how to live there.

And I did not want to get used to it.

Now, as the magic of the previous evening had passed, I understood I was trapped. I could not stay with him. I could not help him create his music... It was not where I belonged – and I surely did not belong with him.

Still, I was afraid of losing him, of hurting him. I was the way I was, but never had I been cruel. And I would never find enough boldness in myself to hurt him on purpose. Or even allow such a possibility to appear.

Therefore I realised that I could not run away. I could not even talk to him about me leaving. It would hurt him for sure... but should I not think of my own safety as well? And was there a solution which would not let him be hurt, but which would protect me as well? And if there was not – which one should I choose?

I did not even realise I had already left the room. Quietly, I stepped closer and closer to my Angel, my arms wrapped around me, my eyes set upon him as he sat at the harpsichord, writing something down. I had already heard the phrase he was now catching on the paper – it was the very same melody he had been humming into my ear the previous night.

What was absurd, I felt slightly jealous of that. Of course, there was no reason for me to feel that way, but when I thought that anyone else would be able to hear the melody that seemed to be so intimate to me... which had sounded so sweetly only because it had been sung as if to la lover... I just could not help it. The idea of it being sung or played to a greater audience would spoil something that had been so perfect just before a moment.

Besides... although I did realise it was foolish and selfish of me, I thought that it was something incredible that he had composed something especially for me. And now, it turned out it was not anything special.

Feeling awfully guilty and ashamed, I lowered my sight. I behaved like a little child – he was a composer. It was obvious he would create music... and I could not stop him from giving it to the other people. Especially for I knew well that his music could be beautiful. Strange, yes, but beautiful in its own way.

I sighed quietly and before I thought about what I was doing, I approached the instrument and touched the paper. The ink on it was already dry, so I did not have to be afraid of destroying it as I pulled it slightly closer to be able to see the characters properly. It was just a sketch – many notes were corrected, and some of the measures were simply crossed off.

It was not the melody he was writing at that moment, neither was it similar to the one he had sung for me. And yet, there was something both had in common. I did not know that a smile had already crept onto my lips as I hummed it quietly, curious about the new tune.

Some time had passed before I heard that he had stopped playing. Embarrassed and frightened, I glanced up at him just to see he looked at me as well, so I lowered my sight and stepped back.

"Forgive me," I said quietly, not quite sure whether I should apologise or just leave him alone. One of those could irriate him... and it would be the last thing I could ever do. Call me a coward, but I did not want him to do any harm to me.

As I said those words, he stood up in silence. Not sure whether it was a good omen, I made another step back, thinking of a way to escape – the only place that came to my mind was the chamber I had slept in, but it would not be a good hiding place. There was no door, so he would be able to enter easily, besides, there was no other way out, so I would just end up trapped with him in the same room.

However, instead of him reach out to hurt me, he just picked the piece of paper with the melody on, and handed it to me.

"Sing," he commanded, and I raised my eyes hesitantly. His voice was neither sweet nor gentle; I could hear the hardness in it, and I understood that I could only follow his order. It was just one of the requests to which "no" would not be an answer.

My hands trembled and it made it difficult for me to see the notes, but I looked at them and took a deep breath before I started singing.

He was a demanding teacher, as I soon began to learn. Every now and then he cut in, telling me to stop or to repeat the same part until I could not think of it any longer. Before I finished the piece that had seemed to be so short just before I had started singing, I felt sick at the melody. And I was sure it must have been a couple of hours.

I just wanted it to end – after all, I had come there to talk to the Angel of leaving, and instead, I was forced to stay even longer. And it was my fault – had I not started humming, he would not have even noticed I had got up. Maybe that was his punishment for me disturbing his work? If so, it was effective; I would never do that again.

"Once again, from the beginning," he said as he sat at the instrument and looked at me from behind the mask. Just when I thought I would be allowed to go out of the room – at least to have some rest.

I dared not say no. Making him angry did not seem to be a good idea, especially when I planned that conversation. No, it never seemed to be a good idea. No matter what. Unless someone was insane, and I was not. At least not yet.

I almost had tears in my eyes as I opened my mouth once again. I had agreed to it myself – no, more than that. I had wanted him to teach me, begged him for that. And I knew that if I really wanted to sing properly, I needed to survive many of such lessons. For although I might have a good voice, it needed to be well trained first.

And then, a miracle happened. Although when I had been repeating the phrases over and over again, I had felt as if nothing had changed, now, as I started singing, I could not recognise the meldy I had been singing all this time. Once I raised my eyes to look at my teacher, I noticed that he gazed at me with admiration in his eyes – despite the fact he had been so harsh during the lesson, now I saw he was happy... proud of me.

It was my heart that began to break. I was going to lose him... my Master, my Angel... and I might never get this chance once more. But if I wanted to remain free, I needed to make this choice. I needed to leave.

When I sang the last high note, he stood up, his face bright, apparently wanting to approach me, but I could no longer stand it. Without thinking twice, I put the paper aside and ran back to the sleeping chamber.


	12. Con agitazione

It might have been the worst of all the mistakes I had ever made – or the best of my choices. If he decided he did not love me... then I should be free. I needed to show him that I was not the one to love... I was not the one for him.

He did deserve love, yes, of course, but it was not me who should be his. There had to be another one, one that would love him unconditionally, just the way he could love her. And I... I was not like that. Because when I looked at him, I did not feel happiness and gratitude, but fear. I was afraid of him, afraid of what he could do to me.

On the other hand, though, there was thankfulness for him in my heart, especially for his will to teach me, a person who meant nothing to the rest of the world. I felt happy that he considered me talented, that he appreciated my voice and the way I sang... but it was as far from love as it could be. Although this feeling remained soft and warm, I was afraid I could never offer him anything more than that. And it still lacked this sweetness and passion that love should have. Besides, I did not think I wanted to love him.

Maybe I was cruel. Maybe I should have given him that chance, but it simply did not seem to be right. His love was specific – and I was not quite sure whether I could stand whatever he offered. Because his obsession, his jealousy, his anger came with it, and I would never free myself from him if I allowed him to love me. I was not strong enough – I was just a girl, weak and fragile, not able to find a solution to the easiest of my problems. And he, as an experienced man, needed support which I could not provide.

Once I entered the room, I looked around, as if trying to find a way out, but it was just a closed space with nowhere to go and nowhere to hide. What I had just done might have made him angry, and I was scared of his fury. Wrapping my arms around myself, I glanced at the entrance, hearing his quick steps. In a few seconds he would burst in – and I was completely helpless, weak against him. What if he was irate enough to hurt me?

Closing my eyes, I turned away from the doorway, as if it could protect me, maybe make me disappear from this cage, but I knew it was impossible. My breath hitched and within seconds I could hear him enter the room.

What did I expect? I was not even sure – maybe a slap. Maybe him yelling at me... or at least saying some bitter words... Definitely, he should tell me how disappointed he was. And yet, I heard nothing like that.

"Arlette," he whispered, and what I heard was immense sadness in his voice. It made my stomach twist in protest. Why did he have to use it against me? It made me feel so terrible. So guilty. And yet, I did realise that I needed to mind my own well being – if I sacrificed it all to him, I might never be able to find happiness.

Although he called my name, I did not response, just took a deep breath, trying to calm down, but in vain. That was when I felt his hand on my shoulder. Its weight was warm and in some peculiar way calming.

"Do you not trust me? Do you want to run away from your angel, Arlette?" he asked in the very same tone.

What was I supposed to answer? I knew I needed to answer "yes". It would be an honest response – but at the same time, I did not want to hear his voice break again when I said something like that.

But he still was my Angel. I could remember him asking if I wanted him to teach me... if I would follow his every command. I had responsed of my own free will – he had not been trying to put any pressure on me. It had been my own choice, one of which I had once been proud of. And I had not forgotten about it yet.

"I cannot stay with you, Master," I replied at last. Tears glistened in my eyes as I glanced at him with shame, knowing I deserved nothing but condemnation. I should have known how it all might end – and I had not been able to stand it even for a couple of days. How weak was I? How would I survive if I wanted to sing, being this weak?

I had thought that if I said what had been tormenting me, I would feel at least a tad better, but as soon as I uttered those words, not only did I not feel any better, but also my frame of mind got worse as I saw that shadow creeping over his face.

It broke my heart, to see him in this state. I would rather want him to slap me across my face, it would hurt less than to watch that look appear in his eyes that had been looking at me with so much pride and happiness.

And hope.

Yes, what I had seen in his glance, was hope – right now it began to disappear, as if wiped off of his look.

"So this is how you feel about me," he said, and right now, there was no sweetness in his voice. The muscles of his jaw twitched warningly as his hands curled up into fists – it was obvious he was doing his best to fight his anger. "Despite what you have told me. What you have promised..."

I had lied to him. Not on purpose, of course, but I realised how terrible this situation was; and it was all my fault. Had I given it a second thought, maybe nothing like that would have happened, but right now it was already too late.

"Forgive me, Master," I answered quickly, not sure what to do or say. No words seemed to be suitable for this moment, but I felt I should at least apologise to him for what I had done. However, he hushed me with just one motion of his hand.

"No, Arlette," he hissed, and I backed away until my back was pressed against one of the walls of the room. His eyes betrayed how hurt and angry he was. Within a moment he was already right in front of me, and I felt just another while parted me from death. "You will not leave... you have already made your promises, and I am not going to let you break them. Whether you want it or not, you shall stay here, with me, until the end of your days. Get used to it, for it will be your home, your cage, the only thing you will know from now on, and my face will be the only one you will ever look at."

My thoughts rushed across my mind in desperation. Maybe I could try to push him away from me, to run away and not even once glance over my shoulder... but the moment I raised my hands, he grabbed my wrists and pinned them to the wall on both sides of my head. Although I was frightened, I could not take my eyes off of him.

"Did you understand it? I wanted to give you freedom. You would be safe and happy forever. You would never want to go back to the world of day... but you chose this life instead. You shall learn, whether you want it or not, but you will never return to what you have known till now. All you had to do was to keep your promise..."

The tone of his voice was so pitiful that I felt even worse. Had I not said those words out loud... maybe I would have found another way. Now, I understood there was no escape from him. And he was right... I had made this choice.

After a while, he let go of my hands; the skin on my wrists seemed to burn. His grasp had been really tight, but I knew I deserved this pain, so I dared not complain.

"Once... I thought you were different..." I was sure he whispered, but soon, it turned out he had just begun to sing. And once again, this tune seemed to be so natural... "That you alone could give me what I have sought for so desperately... what I needed most..."

I bit my lips and lowered my eyes in shame. Tears kept flowing down my cheeks, but his fingers gently wiped them away.

"Why, Arlette?" he barely mouthed. "Why?"

Was there even an answer to this bothering question that seemed to be echoing in my mind. "Why? Why?"

Never would I have thought just a dream of mine would be a start to a story so painful. There should be a choice for me to make. And yet, I realised there was only one path I could choose – and it was the very same this man had chosen.

I had once dreamt of love. I had thought that the story of the Opera Ghost was romantic. Now, as I had become a part of it, I understood there was nothing but suffering in it, and that I would never free myself.

"I told you I could show you the real beauty," he continued after a while, his fingertips gently tracing my cheek. I wanted to turn my face away, but my body had stiffened so much that I could not find enough strength to move. "And you would be the queen... ruling by my side... a true ornament... the only one who could make my music alive. I... I do not understand, Arlette... you could have everything... everything you asked for, if you only wanted. All I required was for you to be mine."

When he spoke of it, it seemed to be so little. If I had not experienced what it meant, maybe I would have said "yes" once more. And even now, I still felt tempted. If I was not careful enough, he would ensnare me once again.

He demanded love. Love I could not give him, for I did not feel it for him, and even if I wanted, I could not force myself to feel this way.

As he opened his mouth to speak once more, I had a feeling he could read my mind, and I felt ashamed of myself.

"You will learn how to love me. I will show you," he whispered, leaning in. I was trapped between his body and the wall, but it was not the real trap. My mind began to betray me, as his voice cast its spell upon it afresh, despite me trying to fight against it so desperately. My eyelids seemed to be so heavy and I found it so difficult to catch a breath. The air around me was full of his presence; his scent filled my lungs to the brim.

Did I want to learn how to love him? I would stay with him, and he would praise me, cherish me the way only he could. There would be no problems down here... I would not have to worry about the things that had been troubling me until now. It would be an easy, sweet life, full of music and his voice. It would be my heaven, and he would be my Angel. Should it not be this way? Should I not be grateful to him?

But I knew I could not do that. If I agreed, whatever I had dreamt of until now would need to perish. And I did not want to give up on all my dreams just to make his dream come true. I was still young – I wanted to see the world, experience everything there was... if I decided to stay with him, I would be locked away from the world that called me.

I opened my mouth to answer. To tell him I did not want the life he had planned for me... but somehow, although I seemed to be forming this one easy word with my lips, no sound came from them. Almost like a fish that had been taken out of the water, I opened and closed my mouth soundlessly, even though I knew so well what I wanted to say.

"You have promised me, Arlette," he murmured tenderly, playing with my locks; his breath brushed against my neck. "If you take your word away now... I will be ruthless. You know I can be. But I do not want to hurt you... there is already so little beauty in this world. To destroy you would be a crime. But I will not let you betray me."

So in spite of him seemingly giving me a chance to choose, there was no choice for me. I would need to stay with him – whether I chose it willingly, or he chose it for me. I was not allowed to leave this place, whether I wanted it or not. My fate was already sealed – it had been before I had even met him.

"Just say it," he whispered directly into my ear, right before placing a gentle kiss onto my temple, "and I shall lay the world at your feet."

No longer did I think for myself; I was just tired... betrayed... and I knew whatever I said, the result would still be the same.

"I will... I will stay with you, my Angel."


	13. Andante cantabile e molto affettuoso

"I will stay with you, my Angel."

Those words seemed to be echoing in my mind, trying to break my skull from the inside. My Angel, apparently pleased with this promise, even though he was the one to force it upon me, had left so I could try to rest. Although that day I had done almost nothing besides my singing lesson, I felt even more exhausted than ever. It was not physical fatigue... it had more to do with my thoughts and emotions. When I had left with him into this underworld, I had not been prepared for this kind of experience... and now I was paying a terrible price.

As soon as he had left, I sighed and returned to the bed, curling up, as if it could produce some kind of shield around me. Never before had I felt this vulnerable, this exposed, although he had done nothing to actually hurt me. He barely touched me... and his touches were rather tender and warm. I still remembered that soft caress of his gloved fingers upon my cheek, and if I could think of it without thinking of the promise he had forced me to make... it might have even been pleasant.

However, then I thought of his firm grasp upon my wirsts and I opened my eyes to glance at them. My skin there was red and I could feel it burn; everyone would notice it if I returned back to the opera house... and as soon as that idea came to my mind, I once again remembered I would never be going back up there.

He was a monster. I had no idea whether he was aware of that or not... but he definitely had very little in common with a human being. Maybe it was because he had never really got to know what real love tastes like... but it still was not enough of an excuse. No man, even the one who had been hurt in past, has the right to treat another person the way he treated me. He played with my mind, he made me hate him as well as myself.

I was not sure when I had fallen asleep; I got to know about it only when I woke up, completely confused. Hardly remembering anything from before (or maybe sure it had been just a bad dream), I sat up quickly, looking around. At first, I did not recognise the place, but then, I realised that what I had in mind was not a nightmare, just my life from now on, and I knew it would be better for me if I got used to it. Maybe one day I would even be able to find a tiny droplet of happiness in this quasi-life.

Maybe I should not have thought that way. I should have fought, I knew that, but at the same time I realised I might never be able to get back to the life I had known. And if I kept fighting, I would never be happy again. And I did want to taste at least some happiness – I was so young and I believed I deserved it if I were to live on.

As I finally calmed down a bit, I noticed that something had been placed on the bedside table. At first, I was afraid to check what it was, but after a while, my curiosity won and I turned in that direction to find out that my Angel had brought a cup of water as well as a bowl of fruit for me to eat. That was when my stomach grumbled, remembering that it still needed food, despite the fact I was now dead to the world.

Beneath the bowl, as I noticed then, there was a piece of paper. I recognised my Angel's handwriting – I had seen it just once, when I had been singing the tune he had composed, and yet, I was sure I would always be able to distinguish it from any other.

At last, I sat back down on the edge of the bed and reached for the cup. It was the first time water actually tasted this wonderful to me. I drank quickly half of it, then put it aside, beginning to eat; I did not care about being elegant at that moment, so I grasped the piece of paper and unfolded it, letting it rest against the cup so I was able to read while eating.

I was not quite sure what I had expected... maybe I should have expected exactly what I found, because as I thought about it later on, I realised that it was probably the most natural of all possibilities.

If I did not know what he was like, I could even say it was an apology... or maybe a thank-you. Or a mixture of both. Nevertheless, I knew that he was either trying to excuse himself for what he had done, or make me feel that it was a good choice, while I knew it was not. Had I been aware of it before, I would have never said "yes" in the first place.

Tears appeared in my eyes. He was terrible... the more he said – directly or not – the worse I felt. It would have been better if he had not spoken to me at all.

Without a second thought, I crumpled the paper and tossed it away, not wanting to see it ever again. It was neither an apology nor a thank-you. Every single word in this letter, just like the words he uttered, was filled with poison. And the worst thing about it was that this poison, although deathly, was addictive.

As soon as I finished my meal, I realised that I actually missed him. I missed his sweet voice, the way he whispered my name... I missed his touch, his gentle songs, the way he looked at me, as if I was a real miracle to him.

There was no excuse for me to feel this way. I was an egoist and a hypocrite, calling my Angel a monster and yet feeling such an urging need to be praised by him... because although he had hurt me, no-one before him had ever seen so much in me. Until now, I had always been just a dancing girl. To him, I was so much more, and I thought that I had probably needed that since the very beginning. And that was the reason why I had listened to him in the first place, without taking the eventual possibilities under consideration.

He loved me. In his own, twisted way, not the way I would ever like to be loved, but he did. And maybe he thought that he would be able to care about me. It was definitely not the care I needed, but I began thinking that he might have been sure that he was doing exactly what he was sure a man in love should do. After all, no-one had ever taught him what love was. Maybe he needed that lesson.

I could not help but smile as I remembered his words... that he would teach me how to love him, but as soon as I thought about it, this smile disappeared from my lips. It was not only him who needed to learn, but me as well. We both did.

As much as I hated the thought, we might have been more similar to each other than I had initially considered us to be. Neither of us really knew love... we were both selfish... and both of us praised music more than anything else.

"No. It's impossible," I said out loud.

"What is, my child?" I heard from behind me, and with a gasp, I turned back to see no-one else but my Angel himself.

That was when I realised it might already be the next day. He wore black, as always, but this time, he seemed to feel more... at home. His clothing was more casual and he even resigned from wearing gloves. His mask, however, white and very simple, remained on its place, covering at least half of his face.

I felt an unpleasant twitch in my stomach, and at first I was not quite sure what it was. Then I understood – curiosity. I simply wanted to know what was under that mask. I wanted to see his face, wanted to learn why he decided to hide it away from me.

I was so vulnerable with him... why would he not show at least a little bit of himself to me? I would never be able to use that to harm him, after all.

"Nothing, monsieur," I responded quickly, suddenly feeling ashamed of my own thoughts. I should be more careful what I thought and said out loud. Having lowered my sight, I bit my lip. Whenever he was so close to me, I hated him even more... and yet, I knew that as soon as he left, I would start missing him again. Besides, his soothing voice seemed to be pulling me even closer to him, and I could not free myself anymore.

Yes. I was lost. I could put all of my strength into trying to fight him, but there was no way I could break the chains he had put around me. He had made sure I would belong to him – and only to him. No longer did I belong to myself.

"Don't be foolish," he replied in a surprisingly bright tone as he approached me and placed his hand on my cheek.

I did not mean to do that, and yet, I felt myself shiver upon that touch, and I took a deep breath to calm down. For the first time I actually felt what his touch was like – not the touch of his gloves, but skin. Warm and delicate. His hand was broad and strong, and I would swear I could feel little bumps, apparently from writing too much.

Did he notice my reaction? Although I would wish he would not, I was almost sure he did; one of the corners of his mouth twitched almost unnoticeably before he glanced at me with worry; whether he faked it or was honest, I was not able to say.

"Nothing is impossible if you really want it," he continued after a while as his thumb traced the curve of my cheek. I could feel the warmth of its tip right under my eye... then sliding down, until it reached my lips. He glanced at them longingly, barely grazing against them before he pulled away, as if he was afraid I would bite his hand off.

Once more, I recalled the same words I had thought of before. I hated him. He was a monster. And suddenly, they sounded so unrealistically...

"And what if I do not want it?" I replied with a question, looking at him almost mercilessly. I was the beast now, but I could not lie. That was where the problem lay: I did not want that one thing that was way too probable to turn out to be true.

"Sometimes what is possible and what is not is not our own choice, my child," he spoke calmly, not taking his eyes off of my lips even for a second; almost as if he praised the way I formed words. "And changing it... is out of our reach. Sometimes it is easier to go with the flow. It is safer to do what we are meant to do, although it might seem to be wrong. Soon... soon we may learn that this is the only way we can find happiness."

I was afraid my words, along with the way I glanced at him, betrayed him much more than I wanted to tell him.

"And... if we are sure it would never make us happy, Master?" I went on asking, not sure why I kept provoking him. Maybe I simply thought that it would explain my point of view to him... that he would understand what I felt. "What if we need to fight our fate if we want to stay happy? No... not even that... to stay sane?"

To my surprise, I saw him smile at me. And it was a true, genuine smile I had not seen on anyone's face for a while.

"Have you not noticed that your answer lies in your question, Arlette?" he whispered, taking my hand into his own. He brought it close to his lips and placed a gentle kiss on my knuckles. For a moment, he stayed like this, apparently enjoying the warmth of my skin just the way I enjoyed his, then opened his eyes and leant in to add, "You have said it yourself... now, answer my question: what if happiness does not mean sanity? Or more, what if your happiness means that you cannot stay sane?"

His words made me feel sick. Was that what he wanted to do to me? He wanted me to lose the rest of my sanity? Maybe that would be the answer – only if I were insane, I would be able to get used to living there.

"Bu... but... monsieur, I..."

"You need to stop looking at all of it like you would in the world of the day," he cut in, seeing how confused I was. However, both of us noticed I understood what he had meant. "This is not what you've seen until now. Here, you should walk with your eyes closed... sharpen the rest of your senses... give in to your darkest desires... lose what you have always considered sanity... and then... you shall be free."

I did not know when my eyelids had become so heavy that they had fallen down; when I realised that, he was already way too close to me, his hungry hands sating upon the touch of my skin; his fingers trembled as they felt my face – just like a blind man, he seemed to be learning it by heart, inch by inch... and I found myself completely unwilling to fight it, although it should be indecent to me.

"Oh, Arlette," he groaned and stepped aside, pulling his hands away with what seemed to be physical pain.

And then, he quickly retreated into the darkness of the main hall, leaving me there, with my eyes closed, breath laboured and body trembling.


	14. Amoroso

Why something like that had taken place, I could not say. I was afraid I had done something wrong, even though it would not have bothered me before. However, now, for some reason, I simply did not want to hurt him. Maybe because he had been so kind to me? He might have punished me for my bad behaviour, and istead, he had chosen to continue to cherish me. To make me feel special.

I suspected that I would stop feeling this way sometime soon, and my will to escape would return with all of its strength. Right now, though, I felt another urge... one that I could hardly understand: I just wanted to make sure he was alright. That I had not said anything that would have hurt him in any way.

To check that, though, I would need to leave the room, but I was scared that my sight might make it even worse for him. Besides, I was not quite sure whether I was ready to spend even more time with him after a moment so intense.

As I took a seat, I hid my face in my hands. Only then did I realise how much I actually missed Meg and Madame... they were probably so worried about me... I should have given them a sign I was alright – but I did not know how to do this. The only way I could inform them I was alright without leaving this place would be sending them a letter, but even that was impossible. Somehow I doubted my Angel would let me do this.

That was when another thought emerged from nothingness: never had I got to know my Angel's name. Maybe he did not have one... or maybe he did, but he did not like it. Or maybe he had even forgotten what it had used to be. Still, it bothered me just the way his face did – it was just another thing about him I wanted to get to know.

It was a bad idea, getting to know him. Because if one gets to know the other, they get used to them. And I could not get used to my Angel... although it already seemed to be too late. I did not want to lose him, despite my desperate will to leave this place. I wanted to be his student, not his lover. His friend, not his prisoner...

My curiosity, though, was stronger than I initially had thought. For the hours I spent in the room, I kept catching myself thinking of him. Not only of his name or looks, but also of simple things connected to him, like what he might have liked... what his life had been like before he had met Christine, and after that...

And then, I found myself closing my eyes and imagining he was whispering my name right into my ear.

I was afraid I was going insane. And that was not a good sign; I knew that was not where I belonged, so I could not get used to him, to his place... however, the longer I stayed there, the less I fought against it.

Taking a deep breath, I stood up. I needed to stop thinking about him. As soon as I saw him again, I was sure I would either start hating him, or that he would cast a spell upon me once more, and that I would not be able to escape at all. For now, I still had that tiny sparkle of hope that there was a way to get out of there.

Instead of thinking about him, I tried to force my thoughts to return to Meg and Madame. However, my mind quickly skipped from them back to my Angel, as if there was a thread linking both of those women to him. And I guessed there was such a thread – both of them knew my Angel, and I had a feeling they (or at least Madame) knew him really well. Maybe they even knew the answers to the questions I had about him...

However, I was afraid I could never ask them about him. Even if I found a way out of there, even if I could talk to them again, I did not know how I would be able to start this topic with them. Although until now they had been hiding this secret away from me, I was sure that now, as I got to know about him, it would be even more inconvenient to talk about him with someone who knew both of us so well.

Still, I needed to make sure Madame and Meg were not anxious about me; after all, no real harm had been done to me, even though my Angel kept me in his kingdom against my own will. However, he did care about me, did he not? He let me sleep in a comfortable bed, gave me my own room, fed me so I would not be hungry. He taught me how to sing properly, just like he had promised. It was nothing strange he demanded the same from me. He had kept his word – now it was my turn to keep mine.

Returning to him that day might have been the worst choice for me to make; the influence he had on me was incredible, and I knew it. Moreover, I was not even able to fight it if he tried to play his tricks upon me again... but I hard no other choice. Without his agreement and his help, I would not be able to send a letter.

As I entered the main hall, I looked around; it seemed to be even larger than what I could remember. The candlelight danced upon the walls, casting shadows upon everything around. My sight rested for a while on the secret paintings hidden behind the curtains, and for a moment, I felt an urge to reach for one of them and pull the fabric down to see why my Angel wanted them hidden so badly... but I found enough strength in me to stop myself.

"Arlette."

This one word brought me back to reality and I found him a couple of steps away from me: what I could see on his face was true surprise. He had not expected me there, and I had to admit that it was pretty strange to me, too, that I managed to enter this place after the conversation we had had earlier that day.

"Monsieur, I..." I began, but hesitated a little. I was not sure if he would not take it as another of my attempts to find a way out, and if he did, I was afraid he would get back into his bad mood. And today... I did not want him to go through it once more.

Although I had no idea what I might have done wrong, I felt guilty for his reactions. No-one deserved something like that... neither him.

"Do not be shy, Arlette," he said, approaching me with his hand reached out to me. I had a strange desire to place my hand on his own, to feel his touch once again, but managed to suppress it, scolding myself internally. There was no right for me to behave like that. I could not get used to him. "Speak up."

"I just... wanted to make sure my friends weren't nervous," I replied quickly, maybe a bit too quickly. "I... know I have made a promise... that you would never let me out... and there is no way I could let them know I am alright."

I could see a strange spasm going through his face, but it could have been just a shadow one of the candles had put on his cheek. Nevertheless, my will to place my hand on his own had vanished somewhere, and instead, I moved back a little bit. For although to me my words might have sounded calm, I had no certainty that he would feel the same about them. And I did not want to get hurt again.

"If you are trying to make me feel guilty for keeping you here, you're not going to succeed," he responded in a suddenly cold and hard voice. "It was your own promise... your own choice to make. And I accepted it as a payment. Now you are not going to get out of here, do you understand me, Arlette?"

Before I noticed, he approached me in a few long steps, then put his forefinger under my chin, tipping it up a little so I would look right into his eyes. They were serious, but I saw no cruelty in them. As if despite all that I felt, he truly did not want to do any harm to me. However, I could not trust this feeling, just as I could not trust him. He was a master of illusion, a true deceiver. If I trusted him, I would pay for it once again.

"I did not come here to ask you to let me out," I answered, and my voice surprised me with its certain sound. "I admit... I tried it before. But not right now. Now, I simply... I simply wanted to ask you a favour."

Apparently my words shocked him. His hand dropped, and I immediately regretted that; for some reason his touch made me feel so much safer, even though I kept repeating to myself that I hated him from the bottom of my heart.

After all, was he not the one to capture me and keep me hidden from the world? He would keep me there, all for himself, despite my not wanting it. Was it not selfish and cruel? I had so much to do, to see, to experience, and yet, I would never be able to do that – just because he had heard me sing and fallen in love with my voice.

He did not even love me.

"Tell me, my child," he spoke gently, instead of hitting me, although the latter seemed to have been more probable – and more suitable to the situation. "What kind of a favour is it? I promised I would lay the world at your feet. I would do anything you asked me for – but that one, simple thing which is letting you out."

"I wanted to write to them. But it would do nothing without your help... so I would like to ask you to deliver my letters to them, to Madame and to Meg, once I have them written," I said at last, and this time, I saw no grim expression upon his face, what calmed me down a little; there was a chance I would convince him to do at least that to me.

With a soft smile on his lips, he raised his hand once more and caressed my cheek; I did not even notice when I leant my face a bit closer to his touch.

"You do know what love is," he murmured, once more touching my lips with his thumb, and I shivered. Such a simple touch should not wake so many emotions in my heart... and yet, it did, however I could not recognise them. "If you would only choose to teach me... what it feels like... to be loved."

I had no idea what to say... and how to explain it to him that it was not quite my choice. On the other hand, though... was it not my choice not to love him? Was I not repeating that to myself that I could not do that?

"I cannot," I whispered, expecting that he would hurt me, but instead, he groaned once more and collapsed to his knees.

I tried to make a step back, but he wrapped his arms around my waist, resting his forehead on my stomach; I could feel his hands tugging on the fabric of my clothing as he clenched it desperately.

"Is it a sin... or a crime... for a monster like me to love an angel?" he asked in a breaking voice. "I would do anything... for a day of your love. I would make you the queen... no-one would ever hurt you again."

Once I heard that peculiar answer, I had no idea what to say. There was no way I could escape him this time. My heart was pounding in my chest as he seemed to be pulling me even closer to himself. His body was so warm, and I seemed to be melting in his embrace. After a while, he glanced up at me, and the response I had made up in my mind evaporated immediately; I just opened and closed my mouth, unable to reach for my voice.

What he did then surprised me even more. Closing his eyes, he placed one of his hands on my chest – and right when I was supposed to push him away, he rested the side of his face right next to it. For a moment, I wondered what he might be doing – and then, I grasped it. There was no secret in his strange behaviour.

He was listening to my heartbeat.

"Are... are you afraid of me?" he asked in a whisper, not even for a moment pulling back; his lips trembled as they formed those words.

Was I supposed to lie to him? No, there was no way I could try that, he would definitely feel it in my voice, or maybe hear it in my heartbeat. No, I needed to tell him the truth, and yet, it seemed to be so cruel...

"Yes, my Angel," I replied just as quietly.

With a sigh, he glanced up at me and reached up to my cheeks once more. His touch was even more and more addictive, and I began fearing that one day I would no longer be able to live normally without it.

"Never... never would I hurt you, Arlette. But you need to teach me... do not leave me, I beg of you... just tell me what I could give you to convince you to stay with me."

It was almost as if he truly wanted me to stay of my own free will, despite the fact just a day before that he had forced me to make this promise to fulfill his selfish urges. But it was obvious he was still fighting with himself. He was looking for something.

But I did not answer. The response that would come was simply too cruel – if I told him that no gift could change my mind, he would definitely go furious – and I was not quite sure whether it was my fear or my pity for him that did not allow me to open my mouth. I just sighed and simply wrapped my arms around him, and when he moved his head to look at me, I asked only:

"Can you teach me once more, my Angel?"


	15. Sensibile

My Angel was not a gentle teacher. Yes, he did love music, but that did not mean that he would be any more lenient; on the contrary, it made him even more demanding. After all, he would never let his music be destroyed by some improper performance. And because I did not want to make him angry or disappointed, I did my best to follow his advice. To do it well... not to mention, I simply wanted to learn.

It was pretty late for me to learn singing. Usually, people would start their education at the age of six, maybe seven, and I was already eighteen. For a musician, moreover, a musician who wanted to perform on a stage, it was really late. On the other hand, though, I did not know whether my teacher would ever let me return to my world... and if I did not return, I would never be able to sing for anyone but him.

And that was when I thought that even if I were not to return to the opera house, I wanted to sing well. To learn what I had been yearning for so many years. It would make staying in this underground kingdom so much more... maybe not enjoyable, but at least bearable. I might not be happy, but it would not kill me internally.

This lesson seemed to have lasted even longer than the previous one. By the end of it, I had already come to hate the piece I had been practicing, and I felt some strange urge to tear this paper into millions of tiny pieces. But I did not do that, knowing how much this music meant to my Angel.

You may call me a hypocrite, but I truly did not want to hurt him. And the more time I spent with him, the more I cared about his comfort. When I was calm, I noticed that he was calm as well. If I did something well, I noticed that he was happy and pleased with me. And for some reason, it was enough to make my heart serene.

Once our lesson was finished, I thought of just another thing: if I were to never leave this place... then why had my Angel fought so much to convince the director to make me the lead? Because I knew it was all thanks to him. He had written those notes... of course, I did know that he should never have done that. I was afraid that he had put some death threats in them and that was what had made the director so frightened. Nevertheless, he had done all of that for me, so I could perform...

"You must be tired," he said as he took the piece of paper from my hand and put it back on the desk. We had not talked about anything personal during the lesson, and I was sure it let him calm down, even if just a little bit. At least he was no longer trying to beg me to stay with him, to give him my love. I thought that those words might stay in his heart, but he would not let them go out, at least not now.

He took my hand and led me to a chair at the desk, letting me sit down. When he looked at me, I had a feeling he wanted to say something more, but did not know how; his eyes were full of emotion, though, and they betrayed him. Instead of saying anything, then, he raised his hand and gently brushed my hair behind my ear. He dared not look at me too long, though, and soon, he turned away from me. For a moment I thought I had done something wrong once more, but then, I noticed that he approached one of the side tables in the corner and poured some water from a jug to a cup he then brought to me.

"You did very well, my child," he murmured gently, handing the cup to me, and I took it with gratitude. As I took a sip, I glanced at him once more, and saw him smiling gently at me, as his thumb gently caressed my cheek. He was truly proud of me, and for some reason, that made me feel guilty. Maybe because I still wanted to get out? "Soon, you shall be the greatest artist of all... you just need to practice a lot."

Was it a good moment to ask him what he wanted to do with the performance he had first arranged to be my debut? I did not know, and I hesitated too much to say a word. I just took a deep breath and nodded, hoping he would understand it was a thank-you. Because I was truly thankful to him for all that he had done for me. And for what he thought about me, too, even though I would never dare admit that.

"I shall practice, my Angel," I responded when I managed to reach my own voice. My hands trembled, so I wrapped my fingers around the cup, trying to calm down. There were so many thoughts boiling in my head, there were so many questions I wanted answered, and yet, I did not have enough courage to ask.

I had a feeling, though, that he tried to read my mind; it was obvious he had noticed that something was wrong... however, maybe he was just as scared as I was. The tranquility between the two of us was something so fragile that neither of us wanted it to be crushed; and both of us probably thought that any improper word could destroy it. That was why neither of us wanted to risk it. It was good the way it was, even though the distance between us was so full of unanswered questions it seemed to tremble.

There were some priorities, though, and that calmness was the most important thing at that moment. We were not sure how far it would go if he got angry at me once more. And I was not convinced I wanted to get to know.

"I know you will," he responded as he knelt down by my side, just like before a couple of hours. This time, though, he did not press his head to my chest to listen to my heart. He simply admired me from this little distance, caressing my cheek with the backs of his fingers. I was surprised how pleasant this touch was. No longer did I feel scared when I was with him, even though so little time had passed.

Maybe it was because of our arguments. They cleared the air between us... slowly I began to understand him. And stronger and stronger, I wanted to learn more about hi, although I knew it was a trap. If I got to know him... I might never want to leave that place again. And that was not something I could risk.

"One day... you will sing like a goddess. Right now, you are my angel," he said quietly in a melodious voice. "And although I would wish to keep you all for myself... one day the world would need to get to know about you. I am afraid... oh, Arlette, am I afraid that once the world gets to know about you, you will never want to return to me again."

Surprised, I glanced at him with question apparent in my eyes. His words... did they mean that he planned on letting me go one day, when I was ready to make his music alive? Otherwise he would not have to be afraid...

"But... monsieur, I thought that you did not want to let me go... ever," I spoke at last, forgetting about my shyness. Maybe I should have been more careful with my words, but they were formed by my lips before I noticed that.

"Of course I don't want it," he replied gently, turning his face away and standing up to his feet a bit faster than I had expected, and this sudden motion scared me a little bit. "But there would be no sense in me trying to teach you... if you were not the one to make my song take flight... my music is for the world. And as long as I would love to be the only one to hear you sing, I cannot do that. I do not want to hurt you."

As he looked at me, something painful appeared in my heart, and unable to stand his glance, I quickly lowered my sight.

"I thought I would die... for so many years as I stayed there, in this... this loathsome place," he spat out, showing me the hall around us. "There was nothing and no-one to save me... and then, when I was ready to die, I heard a voice of an angel. Singing a quiet song, as if meant only for my ears... so I started to listen to it. Then I began to look for it. I awaited it impatiently at the same hour every night... at last, I emerged from my kingdom to the world I hated so much to find my angel. And there she was... she had her hair of gold... and eyes like sapphires. Her face was as white as the snow. And I knew I needed her with me..."

Once again, my heart began to throb, and slowly, I looked up at him again. His glance was ablaze, but he dared not approach me again, as if he was afraid I was too fragile, that his gentle touch would crush me.

"I wrote two letters... one to the director so he would know what I would do to him if he did any harm to my angel. And the second one, to my dearest friend, who cared for my angel. She knew that I would be a good guardian... and she did nothing to stop me from taking my angel back to the world from which she should have come from... to live with me."

I was confused and embarrassed at the same time; nevertheless, I had to feel flattered – which young woman would not feel that way if she had heard such words? Although I felt I should have answered, I did not know what needed to be said in such a moment. My lips trembled as I looked for a reply, but he continued.

"If she had thought I am not a good guardian... she would have never allowed me to take you here," he whispered gently, looking at me as if I truly were an angel. "Right now, I am only afraid... that once I return you to the world of day, it will steal you away from me... that it will never return you under my wings, even though I am the only one who can protect you properly. This is what I know, Arlette, and you must trust me. I would do anything to make sure no-one lays their finger on you. I can take care of you. You will be safe here, with me, and if something hurts you, I am the only one who can heal you."

Was there truly a reason for me to trust him? I was not quite sure, and I needed to think of it, over and over again. But even then, I was not convinced whether I would find an answer. His words were sweet, and I would give a lot to be sure he was right, but I had already got to know that he could make even a poison taste sweet.

On the other hand, though, there was that one point that was right – Madame had always protected me. And she still had tried to make sure I was safe once he had written a letter to her... but after she had talked to me, she had allowed him to take me away. Moreover, I had a feeling she had not even tried to stop me from going with him.

Maybe really I could be safe and happy only hidden in the shadow of my Angel's wings. He could teach me to sing. What about the rest, I did not know, but sometimes one has to choose their way blindly. Right now, it was such a moment for me. I could either refuse and come to a halt, or I could agree and have a chance of going on.

"How can I trust you, my Angel?" I asked at last, raising my eyes; I knew they were red from the tears that had gathered underneath my eyelids, but which I had never shed. "You have already lied to me once."

I meant that moment when he had told me he was an angel... when he had deceived me for the first time. When I had believed him just to find out it was not true.

His hand stopped halfway to my cheek, then curled into a fist, before falling at his side. Maybe once again I had told him too much... but was it not true? He would have discovered what I thought, anyways.

"I did not lie," he hissed at last, then let out a deep sigh. "Do you not see your Angel in me anymore, Arlette? When I spoke to you before, you have believed me. What has changed till now? How have I hurt you?"

"You've never hurt me," I responded quietly without a second thought. I wished he would touch my cheek once more, despite the fact a part of me protested against any physical contact between us. If he continued those caresses, I would push away any resistance that had left in me... he would have me in his grasp.

"I do not want to own you," he said gently, taking my hands in his; his thumbs ran across my knuckles. "I want you... to belong to me with your heart, body and soul. I do not want to trap you here... I want you to consider this place your home. If you do... if you do, it will never be so sad again. And living here... would be like a paradise to me."

If it did not mean that I needed to sacrifice myself, I would have agreed at that very moment. However, I was scared that he would never be able to make me happy. He was so much older than me, and sometimes, he simply filled my heart with fear. I did not want to be forced to love someone – it would never be love. I knew he was obsessed with me, and it frightened me so much. What if his jealousy would lead to something neither of us wanted?

"You barely know me," I noticed quietly. His touch on my hands was way too pleasant; my body seemed to get weaker and weaker whenever he caressed me like that.

"I know you better than you think, my child," he answered, and I feared he truly did. "And one does not have to know the other to love them... I will show you... you may forget your fright – it will soon turn to love."

I could hardly believe he really thought that – but once I looked into his eyes, I understood that was exactly what his idea of love was. How could I ever love a man to whom love meant such things? I did not want to be trapped... but at the same time, I did not want to be parted from that look in his eyes, from the touch I could now feel on my hands... from the warmth of his body, so calming when he held me close...

And then, despite my own will, I understood that he had already poisoned me enough to have me in his power. Did I love him? No, probably not; however, I was already addicted to him, addicted so much that leaving him would cause pain to both of us.

"You are my Angel," I mouthed only, allowing him to place his hand on my cheek; my eyelids became so heavy I could not keep them up. "And you always will."


	16. Subito forte

To my own surprise, time in a place like this flew by much faster than I had ever suspected. It had not taken long, either, for me to get used to the rhythm of the life I lived there. One day passed after another, and soon, I lost my count of them. I was no longer sure what day it was, whether it was day or night, and soon, I even discovered that I did not even care much.

It did not mean, though, that it was a holiday for me – on the contrary, this time was busy and filled with so much work that I found myself falling asleep as soon as I lay down, what was quite surprising to me, since even when I had slept so little, I had not been that tired. I could not complain, though. I knew this time was a good time for me – my education went pretty well, and even more often could I see that look of pride in his eyes... and for some reason, I found myself so fond of it.

Every lesson was even more demanding than the previous one, and they seemed to take forever. As soon as we finished, my throat was sore, and I could hardly speak afterwards. Nevertheless, even I had to admit that I was even more and more proud of myself. Even the hardest parts of the pieces I sang suddenly seemed to become easy, and performing them gave me so much happiness and satisfaction...

And then, I remembered his words... that I would find happiness there, with him. That living there would no longer be unbearable. And whether I wanted to believe that or not, I had to admit that back then he had been right.

No, it did not mean that I no longer missed my previous life. I still wondered if Madame and Meg were well... were they nervous because of my disappearance? Or had they suspected I would have been taken away by my Angel? And even if so... did they feel alright with it? And what about the rehearsals?

There was not much time, though, that I could spend on such thoughts. Moreover, I had to say that I did not even have much time with my Angel, like during the first few days. The only way we met each other was to practice. He never accompanied me during my meals, and I was not quite sure whether he ate at all, the same with sleep. At last, I realised I actually began worrying about him. After all, he was my tutor... and my only companion, and I did not want anything bad to happen to him.

At least a few weeks must have passed when another thought appeared in my mind: that I felt lonely. There was no-one but me and my Angel, and despite the fact we spent a lot of time together, we hardly ever spoke to each other. And even if we said something not connected to the music, we created no bond between us.

That was the time when I started awaiting the moment when I could get back to my world, to speak to Meg, to Madam... to my other colleagues or even the director. I missed them so horribly I could hardly sleep – only the fact that my lessons took so much energy from me made me sleep at all.

That day, I woke up and after my usual breakfast, I began heading to the main hall. What surprised me first, was a beautiful dress put on the chair close to the entrance. There was no chance it could be for anyone but me, since there was no other woman in this place, however, I dared not put it on.

It was completely white, with subtle lace insert on the back. The corset would put much accent on the wearer's bosom and waist, while the bottom of the gown would hide her legs completely and pool around her feet. The fabric was so delicate that I could hardly believe it was real, almost as if it had been made from a cloud.

Gently, I took the dress into my arms and headed out to ask my Angel about it. Was it a gift for me? And if so, what had I done to deserve it?

However, although I looked around the main hall, I could not find him anywhere. And since I did not know the whole place, I dared not go anywhere but there. I suspected there must have been more rooms, but I could not be sure whether they were not too private for me to walk into them, and I decided not to risk my Angel's fury... especially since I had just managed to find so much peace in spending time with him.

Sighing quietly, I took a seat at the desk and moved a piece of paper I had not seen there before. Since I could see it was a score, I did not have to be afraid I would read something that was not meant for my eyes. As I put the gown on my lap, I began humming the melody quietly – it was surely composed in the night, for I had not heard it ever before.

It was even sweeter than any of those I had heard before. And I meant every piece of music I had ever heard. Since I had grown up in the opera house, I had listened to lots of music... not to mention, in the past several weeks I had heard so many dulcet sounds that it had almost seemed to be impossible to beat them.

And yet, I had been wrong.

I was so amazed, that I completely forgot why I had come there. I took the paper into my hands, hung the dress on the chair and having stood up, I started walking around, murmuring the song. At first quietly. Soon, though, I found it difficult not to add the words and at last, I began to put as much emotion into it as I could, for it seemed to be impossible to be sung without that. The lyrics were so simple I did not even think that they had not come from my own heart; the whole song was almost as if I just began to sing about my own life, my own feelings... it was not just written down. It was alive.

I turned the page, and found out the tune was not yet finished. Truth be told, I could not say why I felt this disappointed, but my voice broke and I sighed quietly, slowly returning to the reality this song had taken me away from.

"Just as I've thought... this piece is perfect for you," I heard a familiar voice; it startled me so much that I quickly put the paper back down and, blushing, lowered my sight.

I was not quite sure how long he had been there, but he had been listening to me at least for a while. It should not have surprised me so much, after all, it was his home, and I was just a guest there. Maybe that was why I felt as if he had just walked in on me doing something embarrassing, even though I had been just singing to myself.

"You sound like an angel when you sing it," added my Angel as he approached me as if from nowhere. And once again, I could see that smile that made me feel so weak, so vulnerable that if he had asked me to jump into the lake and drown, I would have probably done that for him. However, he did not ask me to hurt myself – instead, he reached his hand out to me (once again, he wore his black gloves) and touched my cheek.

Only then did I realise how much I had missed his touch. I would have given my everything to feel his fingertips instead of the fabric of his gloves... but although I could not feel the warmth of his hands, my eyelids once again became strangely heavy, and my breath – laboured as a pleasant spasm crossed my body.

"I was thinking... of making this song a duet," he confessed, bringing me back to reality. Immediately, I opened my eyes and took a deep breath to calm down as soon as he took his hand away from my face. "But I am not sure whether a male voice could entwine with yours properly... I do not want to destroy this piece."

Although I did open my mouth to answer, I could find no words, so I remained completely speechless. He, on the other hand, did not seem to be awaiting my response. As he stepped back, he looked around, as if searching for something.

"You did not put your new dress on," he noticed, slowly returning to glancing at me. "Why? Did you not like it?"

"No, monsieur, I did like it, very much," I responded quickly, shaking my head as I raised my sight to look at him. His eyes were gentle but serious at the same time, and I could swear he was observing me for some reason. "I just... did not want to put it on as long as I didn't know it was for me... I didn't want to look like a thief."

His lips soon formed a light smile as he reached for the gown and handed it to me. Without a second thought, I grasped it, understanding it was the sign for me to put it on right now. It was obvious, though, that he was not used to give presents to people since he was weirdly awkward despite his elegance.

I did not ask about anything else, just left to the room, which I referred to as mine now, to change my clothing. Truth be told, as any young woman, I loved wearing beautiful dresses, but I did not think the change would be really so big. However, when I returned, I saw a sparkle of sheer admiration in my Angel's eyes that I had not seen for a while.

"Now... you sing like an angel and look like an angel, as well," he murmured with some childish happiness echoing in in voice. "It had to be white... angels should wear white to accent their beauty and purity."

Out of nowhere, a thought appeared in my mind. One that should have never found a way to my head since it seemed to be so indecent at that moment, so improper... but I simply wanted to find myself in my Angel's arms once more. To hide underneath his wings. To whisper that it was not me who had come from the heaven above.

But why an angel like him would ever hide in the shadows of the night? Why would he live in the deepest parts of hell?

"Sing for me, my Angel," he begged in that voice of his that made my stomach flip. I knew I could never decline such a request.

Not thinking twice, I reached for the paper I had left on the desk and having taken a deep breath, I began singing the tune once more. And this time, when I knew he was near, it sounded differently, but even more sweetly. A part of it I already knew by heart, so I caught myself focusing more on my Angel's presence than on the music, what seemed to be unforgiveable. With all of my will I brought my mind back to the song.

It was not that easy, though, as he soon stood right behind me, his chest pressing against my back. His hands rested on my shoulders, warm and soothing, making it so hard not to think about him... And when he leant down to press a kiss to my head...

My voice was now not louder than a whisper, but he did not scold me. He did not tell me to raise my voice, although I could hear his breath. No longer was I able to sing, but that was when my part finished, and without even a second of hesitation, he continued the tune, making the piece a duet.

I could not imagine singing it with anyone but him. This song would never sound that wonderful if it was not my Angel's voice. Only he could sing what he had created – only then did it sound the way it should.

His breath brushed against the skin of my temple and cheek as he wrapped his arms around me, pressing his face to my head as he stood behind me. His hungry hands once again began exploring my body, but although there was so much passion in his touch, I did not see anything indecent in that act. He would never dare defile me... he did not try to hurt me. He was just learning my body by heart.

Before I knew it, the song was over, but he did not pull away. And I did not want him to... I would just wish for the melody, for this moment to last forever, even though I did realise it could not. But never before had I felt this wonderful with another person so close to me. I wanted to cherish those seconds as much as possible.

"You are my angel," he whispered into my ear, "mine, and no-one else's. No-one is ever going to take you away from me."

And this time, I knew he was right. No longer did I want to leave this place. I was happy there, with him. I simply belonged to him... just like he had once said. And just like he had mentioned, he was capable of making me feel good, despite him being who he was... or maybe because he was who he was.

"Then why does my Angel hide away from me?" I asked just as quietly. My eyes remained closed and I did not move away from him, feeling safe in his embrace. "Why does he not want me to know his name and face?"

That was a mistake. I should have not ever said that, but how could I know? Within a second, he pushed me away from himself, looking at me with fury I was so frightened of.

"Then that is why you were so obedient?" he roared, and his voice echoed in the hall. "For a moment... for a split second I thought it was all real... but you are no angel. You are a demon hidden in a body of an angel... or are you an angel sent to me to punish me for all of the sins I have ever committed?"

With a quiet groan, he hid his face in his hands, as if something hurt him. I was so shocked that I only made a couple of steps back, hitting the desk behind myself.

"N- no... I..." I began, but my voice broke.

"My face... is nothing you would ever be fond of looking at..." he hissed. "No-one has ever been able of loving me just because of it!"

Trembling, I opened my mouth once more, but not even one sound left it. What was I supposed to say? Because I felt that something should have been uttered... but any response seemed to be wrong at a moment like that.

"Be gone!" he yelled at me. "Go away... and never come back."


	17. Calando

Those words seemed to be trying to break my skull from the inside. I could hardly believe that I had truly heard them... and I did not want to believe, as I soon realised. Living there was something I had just got used to – and I did not want to be ripped out of it so suddenly. Although I could not wrap my mind around it just yet, I understood that he had been right when he had told me that he was the only one who could make me truly happy.

Because right now he was my world – my everything. My teacher and my family, my only friend... returning to what I had known before him seemed to be impossible right after having got used to this new life. It was completely different – as if it was not just a place underneath the opera house, but an utterly new world. I could not say which world I preferred, but this one... it was magical.

Music was something that lived its own life. It was not just a performance of a singer or musician. It was a living being, with its own soul, heart and mind, although it might seem to be impossible. But right now, I at last began to understand what my Angel loved about it, moreover, I thought I started loving it all, too. How would I ever be able to leave it all just because I had said a couple of unnecessary words?

Truth be told, I was not quite sure whether I should have felt guilty or not, but I did, anyways. After all, I had had no idea that those words were the forbidden ones in this area – never had I suspected they would hurt him so much. Had I been prepared for that, had anyone warned me... I would have never said that.

But had Madame not warned me? Had those words not been an admonition...? I should have taken that under consideration, but I had ignored that. Unintentionally, of course, but that was not enough of an explanation.

I knew that I should have listened to that command... but that one time, I had not followed it. Seeing that my Angel, apparently hurt, left quickly into the darkness where I could no longer see him, I glanced at the boat, biting my bottom lip, but instead of stepping in to leave, just as I had been told to, with my heart pierced with his pained words, I decided to leave into the room I considered mine.

There were so many thoughts in my mind, but I could not quite understand what I actually thought... one seemed to be trying to catch another, but before I fully understood it, another one took its place.

Once more I considered leaving that place. It was my chance to do what I had been trying to do for the past several weeks, but now, as I at last could do that, I found no courage and no will to even attempt to run away. Instead, I chose to stay there, make sure my Angel was alright... and maybe try to apologise to him.

With my heart in pain, I lay down in the bed, curling up and hiding my face in my hands, trying not to cry, but it was too hard – however, before I even noticed, I was already asleep, but dreamt no dreams that night.

* * *

When I woke up, I was still trembling. My whole body hurt, as if I had done some terribly difficult and exhausting work the previous night, so I moved with difficulty. As I took a deep breath, I at last managed to sit up and look around.

As I suspected, my Angel had not entered the room the previous night, because there was no sign of his presence; usually, I would have found a glass of water on the side table and a bowl of fruit as my breakfast. Apparently, though, he truly thought that I had left, and that it was no longer necessary.

I could not even blame him for that; I should have left, and I knew it, but it was my selfishness that had stopped me from doing that that night. And now, I did not do that, either. Moreover, now, I was even more certain that I could not leave, although he had told me to do that. And it had not been just a simple request – it was a command, an order I should have never ignored. But... I had not really ignored that. I – completely willingly – acted against it, so stubbornly that even I was surprised.

Although my head ached, I forced myself to get up and my fingers brushed my hair, but I did not care about my looks that day. I did not have to be pretty. However, I found myself unwittingly trying to hush that little voice in my head that reminded me about my Angel and how much he admired my beauty... but right now, he was not even aware of my presence there. How could I think about it at that moment?

Not even for a moment could I regret the fact that I skipped breakfast that day, because I felt sick to my stomach – if I tried eating, I would definitely feel even worse. I had no idea how much time I spent in the room, simply walking around and wondering what to do right now. There were so many possibilities, and yet, there was nothing I could really do. Nothing seemed to be right, not even leaving.

No. Leaving seemed to be the worst idea of all.

At last, I decided to face the problem, as it was the best way out of this terrible situation. After all, I could not hide in that room forever. I could stop eating for that one day, yes, but not for more, if I did not want to starve. Moreover, if he found out about me hiding there, he might have got even more furious than he was at that moment.

My body trembled as I left the room and entered the main hall. To be honest, I had thought I would meet him there, but there was no sign of him. For a moment, a thought passed my mind: what if he was the one to leave? What if I was supposed to never see him again? And at that thought, my heart was pierced with so much pain that I closed my eyes, feeling tears nibbling on my eyelids.

I did not understand it at all. That man... the very same I had considered a monster... how could I care about him so much?

All I wanted was to see his face. He had seen all of me. He had touched me, heard my voice, he had me completely in his grasp, and I did not even try to protest. I asked for nothing more... but seeing his face. That one time.

Had he not promised that he would lay the world at my feet? Had he not told me that he would do anything that I would ever ask of him? And until now, I had never requested anything but that one simple thing. Had he not heard that in my voice? I had not laughed at him. I had not done any harm to him... at least not physically...

But I did regret the fact I had asked of that. As I thought of him touching my face... he had been smiling so sweetly... and I had lost it all just because I could not bite my tongue at the right moment.

With my heart heavy, I sat down at the desk. Right there, in that place, everything had happened. I remembered hitting that desk with my back as he had pushed me away from him. What did he feel now? Was he angry? Or maybe disappointed? Hurt? Did he hate me now? Or maybe I was disgusting to him?

"If only... I could apologise to you," I whispered, hiding my face in my hands once more. "You are my Angel..."

I did not know when I started singing. Those words, full of pain and yet still sweet, left my lips so deftly... they were natural. I did not even think of what I was singing – it was even more naïve than my tears. Even simpler than usual apology. This melody – which I had no idea where it came from – was the only thing I could offer to him. The only solace I could give and hope, even just a little bit, that he would accept it.

There was no accompaniment – although I could play the harpsichord, I did not do that (I did not even think of that, to be honest) – and my voice echoed in the hall, even though I did not sing loudly.

Suddenly, my voice broke and I was no longer able to sing. Biting my lip, I could not even stop the tears that were now slowly rolling down my cheeks.

It was foolish of me to expect that he would just forgive me. If one makes a mistake, it takes time for the other to forgive. And right now, I should have thought that it would take any less time. Nevertheless, deep inside my heart I did have that tiny sparkle of hope that I would hear his voice again. That he would come to me...

Another part of me, though, scolded me for those thoughts. It had been my fault that he had told me to leave. Now, instead of expecting something that was simply impossible, I should have just followed that order.

For the first time, I began wondering if it was not the best idea, and I even decided to get up to step towards the boat, when I felt someone's hands on my shoulders that stopped me from going anywhere. And I would have sworn that I knew their soothing warmth, their pleasant weight that calmed me down...

"My Angel," I mouthed, but no sound left my lips.

"I thought you're already gone," he answered, and I could hear that hurt tone in his voice, but at the same time... or maybe it was my selfish hope? – I was sure there was happiness. Or maybe relief, as if he had hoped I would stay.

"I couldn't," I said quietly, shaking my head, and I quickly closed my eyes as tears once more started flowing. If I hurt so much at that moment, I thought, then how much pain had he felt the previous evening...?

I needed to be more careful now. Every step I was going to take had to be thought of twice, or maybe even thrice, so I would never regret anything as much as I regretted asking him to betray his name to me. Or to take his mask off...

"You should have," he added dryly, his voice once more piercing right through my heart, but I found no courage to apologise once more. As he sighed, he continued, but this time, his tone was changed. "I... oh, Arlette... I am a monster. A devil that years for an angel... I've been burning in my hell for years... then how can I expect climbing up to heaven?"

I felt so ashamed of myself as I remembered that in my own thoughts I had called him a monster. A devil... but no longer did he seem to be a demon to me. If there was a demon amongst us, it would be me.

"No, no, monsieur," I responded at last, and my voice sounded strangely high and quiet compared to his, even though he was not talking loudly. "You are my Angel... I know that. My Angel who has shown everything to me. Who has become my tutor... and I could never leave him, even if he tells me to do it."

"You promised me you would do everything I asked of you," he reminded me, but there was no scolding, not even the mildest, in his words, and it surprised me. "I told you to leave... and you should have done that."

Was that a sign for me to leave? Maybe, but when I moved slightly to stand up, he stopped me and in the next second, he was already kneeling right before me, just like when he had been listening to my heart those weeks before all that...

And it seemed to have been eternity since then.

"You are a poison, Arlette. My only temptation. Just when I thought I had beaten all of them... you appeared. And I cannot defeat you. I cannot find a way to get over you, no matter how hard I tried," he confessed, holding my hands.

Although I opened my mouth to answer, once more my voice betrayed me, and the only thing that left it was a quiet sigh. My face was wet from the tears I had shed, but right now, I was not even able to wipe them off – when I made the slightest move to try, he grabbed them even stronger, lowering his sight to glance at them, pale and trembling.

There were so many thoughts in my head, but it still seemed to be empty. I just wondered what he was thinking at that moment.

Whispering my name once more, he let out a quiet sigh and brought my hands to his lips, kissing them gently – my knuckles, palms, all of them. And I did not stop him. It was so pleasant I simply did not want it to end, ever, although it was such a foolish wish. His lips were so soft it surprised me, but at the same time, could they be any different...?

And when I thought he had finished, when I was sure he would now let me go, I felt him taking my hands into his own, leading them across his cheeks, just like he had touched my face before. It was obvious he was unsure of it all, as if he hesitated whether I deserved it or not – or maybe if he found pleasure in it...

Then, he hooked our fingers on the edge of his mask and pulled it off.

* * *

 _ **A/N:** Thank you for all of the reviews! You, guys, are wonderful. Soon, maybe even tonight, we will reach a milestone - the story is going to be read for the 1000th time! And I am so glad you're enjoying the story so far! I am going to try to update as often as I can. If there is any way I can improve, please, let me know. _


	18. Pietoso

I did not know what her reaction would be. Still remembering that no-one had ever wanted to look at my abominable face, I hesitated. Just when she had stayed there, with me, instead of going away, just when I had gained hope that she would indeed keep her promise... once again I began worrying that she would run away. At the same time, though, I did realise that she deserved it. No matter how afraid I was, I knew that I could not hide away from her all my life if she was to stay there forever. One day she would get to know the truth – and it would be better if I had at least some control over it...

Of course, I could just let things happen and wait until her curiosity grew so strong that she would try to take that thing off of my face – but that was not what I wanted to take place. She would be terrified, and I... I would not be able to do anything with it. Moreover, I knew that my anger would take over me and I could hurt her, even though I did not want to see her suffer.

But then, would I not make her suffer if I let her see that thing I called my face? I had done nothing to deserve it, but maybe I was meant to be a demon, to live in hell. It was my fate and I could not change it. Maybe that was why everyone run away from me, why everyone loathed me. But if it were so... then why did I still have so much hope that at least Arlette would understand? Because she was my last chance.

I yearned for heaven, but I knew the only heaven I could be a part of was her. She could have chosen anyone... she could have left me when I had told her to go away, and she would be able to choose just any gentleman her age to make her happy. Instead, she had chosen to stay with me, although she knew that I could hurt her, even though unintentionally.

There were so many differences between the two of us – she was so young, so full of life, so beautiful. And I... I knew I was already old. There were not many years that parted me from death. And I was broken inside... but her love was something that could mend me. And then, there was my face, the thing that made me so loathsome... and there was nothing but this mask that could save me from her terrified look.

And yet, despite all those differences, we were still so similar. Both of us loved music more than anything else, and both of us had so much talent... together, we would be able to fill the world with melodies. Maybe we could even teach the world what the real beauty was... but I needed her to achieve that. I was not able to make it happen without her.

Besides, I simply wanted her by my side. I wanted her to be near... her beauty to lighten up the darkness I had lived in since I could remember. I desired the warmth of her body close to mine... her voice whispering into my ear. I wanted to see her fall asleep next to me and wake her up with kisses planted on her eyelids. I wanted to look at her as she raised her eyelids in the morning. I wanted to be the first and last thing she would see every day.

There was nothing and no-one I would have ever admired as much as her – her fair locks around her round, rosy face, her sweet, red lips (oh, did I desire to taste them...), her big, blue eyes filled with a dreamy look... She was my muse. My only wish. My only angel and goddess. There was nothing that could make me happy, nothing that could breathe a bit of life into my dark and lonely world but her.

Yes, I needed her.

And yet, I was doing something that could part me with her forever. Even if I forced her to stay with me, she might never be able to look at me again. She might come to hate me with burning passion, just like the rest of the world...

But had I not promised I would do everything she would ask of me? And there was her request – there was no chance she knew what she would see underneath the mask, so I could not believe she was doing it all to torment me. I had to keep my promise if she were to trust me, and I wanted her to trust me. I even wanted her to look at me with just as much admiration as I when looked at her... but there was no chance.

My no and my anger would separate me from her forever, that one thing I knew. That was why I did that. For her. For us.

I took a deep breath and allowed our hands to move away from my face. The mask fell down, the sound echoing through the hall.

* * *

What had I been expecting? I did not know. My heart was pounding in my chest so hard that I could hardly breathe, and it made me feel dizzy. Or maybe was it because of the thoughts that kept racing through my mind...?

The mask hit the floor, but I paid no attention to it as my eyes remained fixed upon my Angel's face.

I did not know what I had been expecting, but surely not that. Maybe I should have felt disgust, I do not even know, but I did not. Something pierced right through my heart painfully, and my hands curled up; I did not even notice that he still held my hands in his own, but his touch was soothing, in spite of that situation.

His face was so distorted it was heartbreaking. But there was nothing I could do with it – I might have been good at singing, but my voice would never heal that. Tears piled up in my eyes once again, but I dared not shed them – I did not want him to think I was afraid of him... that his real face terrified me, because it did not. I was surprised myself, but right now, I simply wished I were able to cure him.

He had never been like any other angel to me – maybe that was what made him my Angel. His face was not like any other angel's face, but once again, it could not bother me. He was special, unique...

Mine.

Trying to blink my tears away, I slipped one of my hands out of his grasp and raised it to touch his cheek gently, a bit afraid that my touch could hurt him. I was not quite sure if the deformation was not painful to him, but I simply wanted to do the very same thing he had done to me. I wanted to learn his face by heart.

My hand trembled slightly as I put my hand against his cheek, my thumb caressing his skin. I was so nervous, and yet, it made me in some way calm. Especially when I noticed he did not move away from me.

His eyelids soon fell shut, and he let out a deep sigh, leaning closer to my touch. For a moment I was surprised and wanted to take my hand away, but that was when he placed his hand over mine, not letting me go. After a moment, he took the other of my hands to place it on the healthy side of his face, and once more, I felt more vulnerable than ever. My body and mind belonged to him completely.

I had no idea what kind of magic he used; but he definitely had cast some kind of a spell upon me. I was no longer able to free myself from him. I knew he wanted me there, with him, and slowly I began getting used to the fact that I wanted to stay there, too. Maybe I had found out that there was a place for me...

"Arlette," he whispered, and it was the first word said out loud in a very long time. He let go of my hands to put his own on my cheeks. Despite that, I dared not let my hands fall down; I still wanted to caress his face, feel it so close to me. No longer was he hidden behind a mask, no longer was there a curtain between us; we were ourselves, together, and there was no barriers between the two of us.

Leaning in, he pressed his forehead against mine; until now I had not noticed how much taller than me he was, but at that very moment, it did not matter at all. I just felt he would truly be able to cover me with his wings if he wanted.

"Yes, my Angel?" I asked just as quietly, but there was no need to say anything louder – we were so close he would be able to read my lips. Right now, even my breath seemed to be louder than a thunder.

I did not know when I had closed my eyes; I noticed that only when I was forced to lift my eyelids to be able to glance up at him. Tears were rolling down his face as his thumb once again started tracing the line of my lips. He looked at me with so much yearning that it seemed to be impossible – no other person could ever look at another mortal with so much longing and admiration.

"You are so beautiful," he responded after a longer while. He formed his words cautiously, with hesitation, apparently not quite sure what my reaction would be. "A demon like me does not deserve such beauty."

"But you are not a demon," I answered instantly, and my voice sounded so certain that it surprised even me, although it should not have – I spoke honestly. "You are my Angel, monsieur, and an angel cannot be a demon."

His eyes were so gentle as he looked at me, smiling gently. I wondered how it was possible that his face changed so much when he got furious – right now, even despite that distortion, he was so handsome in my eyes. It was not the same handsomeness I knew from the life I had used to live – I had met many handsome men. Their faces were as different from my Angel's face as they could be, but right now I thought they were so primitive compared to him.

He was not young, I was aware of that – there were little wrinkles around his eyes and mouth, but they only added charm to his looks. And the way he glanced at me... no-one had ever looked at me with so many emotions. No other man seemed to be capable of holding that much in his heart – only my Angel.

"You deserved to see me," he added after a while, not responding to my words. One of his hands brushed some of my hair behind my ear as he placed a kiss on my forehead. "But you shall never see me again. I am ugly, my child, and nothing you say can change that. I could never hurt your eyes with something like that. I promised to show you the real beauty... and this is certainly not a part of it."

I opened my mouth to say something, so shocked and disappointed after hearing his words, but I could not find any proper answer.

With a deep sigh, he moved away from me and leant down to reach for the mask which he then promptly put back onto his face, creating a wall between us once again. For one short moment he was completely mine. There was nothing between us – but he decided to change that, and I found no courage to protest.

"Go away and rest. Tomorrow we will return to our lessons," he said, this time using his usual tutor voice, deprived of any emotion, dry and almost rough. Not turning back to look at me again, he left me just where I stood.

I had no idea why I felt so lonely. So let down. So disheartened. At that very moment I was almost as unhappy as when he had told me to leave him alone. It was as if I had just understood that that was where I was supposed to be, with him, and no power, even his words strengthened up with the hold he had over me, could change it.

Then why did he not understand it? And if he did understand it, then why did he not let me stay? Why did he not let me help him?

Curling my hands up into fists, I closed my eyes and took a deep breath, trying to calm down. I did not need any rest, but apparently it was not me he had meant – he needed some time to get over the fact someone had seen him without his mask. I felt that I was one of very few who had seen his real face. At the same time, though, I had a feeling that not many reacted the way I did. Maybe he was afraid I would start hating him as well...

But I could not hate him. The more I got to know him, the closer he was to me. I had never respected anyone as much as I vauled him. Maybe Madame – but it was still not the same thing I felt for him. I did not even feel bad about being completely under his power. Serving him no longer seemed to be a trap, but a way to my happiness.

If only I could convince him to take that mask off... I wanted him to know that his face did not change anything between us. Or that it made him closer to my heart than he had ever been. No, than anyone before him had ever been. I did not feel repulsed by what I had seen; it pulled me towards him, making me trust him stronger than I would have ever wished.

I was so weak. But at the same time, I did not even struggle for any more power. I felt safe and warm there, underneath my Angel's wings. Just as he yearned for my closeness, I desired his presence with me.

With my heart strangely sore, I returned to my room and started practicing. That day, I did not spare my voice. I needed to forget about the feelings that hurt me, and practicing seemed to be the only thing capable of achieving that. It must have been hours before I finally returned to bed, exhausted, in despair, crying myself to sleep.

I just wanted him there, with me... was it really that much?


	19. Arietta

The girl wandered around her room, biting her fingers nervously – she had been doing the very same thing for weeks already, and there was nothing to calm her down. Even her talks with her mother did not help anymore. They seemed to make the situation even worse as she continued telling her that there was nothing to worry about, while she knew perfectly that this situation was definitely not normal. How was she supposed not to worry about it? After all, her friend had been gone for almost two weeks already! Right after a strange conversation with her mother... and after a strange reappearance of a certain man...

Something bad must have happened, for sure! The girl remembered it perfectly; almost the very same situation with her former friend. But Christine was a different person. Her wish to learn was not as strong as Arlette's. Not to mention, Christine knew people while Arlette... she was still so young, so naïve. If that man had lured into that terrrifying world of music and night... who knew how much he had changed during those years, when he had been gone!

Meg was afraid she would never see her friend again. Her mother kept telling her that it was nothing she should have been worried about – after all, it was Arlette's life. Her own choice. Madame had definitely warned her... but at the same time, she knew that the Ghost, the Phantom or the Angel, as he called himself, could be really convincing. He could force even a grown-up woman to do things she would have never thought she might have wanted. And Arlette was not a grown-up, strong woman. She was still a girl, a child, believing in good, love and good will. And although Madame Giry did not think that her old friend could try to hurt the girl, she knew there was a possibility he would try to do that.

And even if he did not hurt her... he would keep her there forever. This time, though, there was no chance of getting her back, like they had rescued Christine, because Arlette had no-one. And she, Madame, would never try to get Erik into any trouble. Because if she tried to rescue her little student, or if she allowed Meg to get her friend out of the Phantom's lair, she was afraid someone might try to kill the man. Or that he would kill someone who did not deserve that... there was still too much risk.

Arlette had to deal with it all by herself.

"Go to sleep, Meg," Madame sighed, glancing at her daughter as she opened the door leading to her room. Seeing the young woman nervous like she had been since her friend had disappeared, she felt another wave of anxiety. There had to be something that could be done... otherwise something bad could happen to Arlette – and Madame truly loved her, as if she was her second daughter.

"You know I cannot, mother," answered Meg, looking at the older with tears in her eyes. "I don't know what could have happened to her... I think he has taken her, mother, and you know... that it may have a terrible end. I don't want anything bad to happen to her. Right now, she's all I have. What if he has taken her forever? What if I am not going to see her ever again? Besides, the corridor to his house is now destroyed. I don't even know how to go and find her."

"You mustn't, Meg," warned her Madame, frowning. She was not angry at her daughter – rather afraid that she might do something wrong. Something that would lead to terrifying consequences. And she was definitely going to let Erik kill Meg. "Go to sleep. You will see her again, you just need to wait."

However, the tone of her voice betrayed that she was trying to convince herself, not believing that this story might have a happy end. It was not one of the sweet fairy tales that finished with "and they lived happily ever after". There was no chance for that. Erik was a very special man, but he was not capable of true love, not one meant for a young woman. And even if Arlette tried to love him, she would soon learn that it was not that easy. Soon, this love would turn out to be just a fleeting admiration that would disappear within moments. Then, she would get tired, and eventually – horrified. And that was not the fate Madame wanted for her.

"You don't think it's possible, do you," the tone of Meg's voice was so bitter that her mother glanced at her warningly, as if scolding her without saying a word. Meg, however, did not seem to be afraid and continued, "But you don't, mother! I see that in your eyes, I hear that in your voice! Arlette is lost – and she might be lost forever if we don't save her."

"But there is no way of saving her without hurting Erik," responded Madame dryly, to what Meg answered with a short laugh.

"Then this is the real matter? You are afraid of hurting him? Mother, he is a killer! He will murder my friend... if we don't do anything with it! Are you really willing to sacrifice her just for his comfort?"

The muscles around Madame's lips twitched lightly as she looked at her daughter. She should have not said that – however, she was right... there was a choice between Arlette and Erik, and yet, she could not choose. No matter how hard she tried to make this choice, she still hesitated, and it would be easier to just let things happen...

"Go to sleep, Meg. You are not going to do anything on your own, anyways. And your worries won't change anything," she replied only, then closed the door, leaving her daughter alone, praying she would not do anything foolish.


	20. Pianissimo possibile Amabile

I had never thought that it would be that hard. I should have already got used to the fact that my Angel would never reveal his face when he was with me – and yet, now, as I had already seen it, his real face, I simply wished he would have enough courage to take that mask off forever. When there was no barrier between us, I felt so much safer. Although it did hurt to see him hurt, I did not think of him as of someone to be afraid of, or disgusted by. No, his looks did not repulse me, and I had thought he could understand it when I had touched his face. Apparently I had been wrong... and it was so hard for me to stand.

However, I could not think of a way out, even though I did try. I wanted to explain that to him: that I preferred my Angel when he did not cover his face with something so fake while he was so real. But it did not seem to be right – it might hurt him even more, and that was certainly not something I would ever aim for.

Those weeks that followed that night when I had finally seen his face seemed to last forever, and it took my breath away. Once again, I began wishing I could just leave this place and forget I had got to know this man... but I could not. And when I started thinking over it, I realised I did not actually want to leave him. I just wanted to see him happy. And yet, those moments we spent together did not make him happy; moreover, I felt that they kept parting us. Just as I had thought that he was the one to make me happy... I understood I hardly knew the man I lived with. And apparently he did not want me to get to know him.

Yes, it was painful; it surprised me at first, of course, but I had to admit it. There was something about my Angel that pulled me towards him, and walking away from him made me feel the same thing as I would if someone tried to rip my arm off. Whether I wanted it or not, he had already become a part of me. However, he returned to acting as if I was nothing to him but his student.

Was that not what I wanted? When I had first appeared in his kingdom of music, I had wished for him to see me as someone he wanted to teach and nothing more. Now, I found myself craving more, while I had no right to ask for it.

What exactly did I want, anyways? What was that what I felt was missing between the two of us? He was my Angel, my tutor, my friend. And he did behave like they would, right? He was not cold when he was with me. He did not treat me harshly in any way. He was a gentleman in every inch, even though he could be quite demanding as a teacher. But it only showed that he was a good teacher.

Then why did I feel that was not enough?

And right when I asked myself that question, those moments when we had been close came to my mind. His touch, soft whispers, caresses... they made my heart flutter and brought a deep blush onto my face. That was exactly what I needed – I needed him close, like back then, and he had not touched me since that night...

I missed his touch, his voice as he murmured my name, when he sang for me, and the melody was so intimate it would never be sung out loud for anyone else. Was it selfish to expect he would return to doing that? But had he not promised me he would praise me? I did not really deserve that praise – then why did I miss it so much?

There were so many questions in my mind, and although I felt I had the answer hidden somewhere in my heart, I could not grasp it, and it seemed to be getting more and more irritating. It was exactly the same feeling when you do know the word you want to use but cannot remember what it was – just stronger and more annoying.

At the same time, though, I was quite afraid of that answer – as if I was not ready to get to know what made me feel like that. As if it could change me forever while I did not want to change at all.

"What has made you so sad, my child?" I heard. Those words almost made me jump – my Angel had not spoken to me like that since that night several weeks ago, and I had had a feeling that he had not wanted to return to that.

For a moment, I wondered what to say. I could not leave without an answer, but at the same time, I had no idea how I could put what I felt into words. I did not take lying under consideration – never would I be able to lie to my Angel, besides, he would always get to know the truth, anyways, and I did not want him furious.

I sighed, lowering my sight, then shook my head. Would he be able to understand me? I was just a young girl – how could he understand my problems?

"It's... it's nothing important, monsieur," I responded only, finding it the most suitable reply at that moment. There was no need to bother him with my thoughts and feelings. He deserved some silence – besides, I did not want to ruin one of our very few moments together with something so unimportant.

"Oh, but on the contrary," he answered, touching my face, and I leant closer to his hand unintentionally. He did not have his gloves on, and I was glad about it; I enjoyed feeling the warmth of his skin against mine.

I did not know what to say and how to react; completely dumbfounded, I simply allowed him to caress my cheek, like he had used to before. And never had I found more pleasure in it than at that moment.

"I can see you're unhappy, Arlette, and I would do everything to see you smiling once again," he added quietly. The look in his eyes was so gentle – I had to believe him, even though he could misuse my trust.

His hand slowly traced the curve of my cheek before it slid down to my jawline and then even lower; his fingertips caressed my neck and throat as his eyes left mine and began to observe my lips. I did not know when I parted them, but right now, in this situation, it seemed to be so hard to breathe, so I could not close them.

"So young... so beautiful," he murmured as if to himself, but it did not mind; my voice would only destroy the magic of that moment. My breath remained trembling, eyelids became even heavier than before, and at last, I allowed them to fall. Focusing only on my Angel's presence, on his closeness, I realised my problems were gone.

So was that exactly what I needed? His closeness? His touch and soft voice as he uttered my name? Was it not absurd? But yes, as I felt him that close, I was happy and needed nothing more. However, the thought alone that he would move away from me made my heart cringe and I just prayed he would stay like that forever.

Oh, how foolish of me.

"Tell me, my child," he whispered, leaning closer to me; I could feel his lips gently brushing against my ear, and against my own will, I shivered and a sigh left my lips. I was weaker than ever, but this weakness did not make me feel bad. Actually, I was sure that if I fell, he would catch me. I was not afraid.

"Nothing seems to be troubling me anymore, my Angel," I responded quietly and my honesty was perfectly audible in my voice. Those words were not even formed by me – I did not even think of saying them out loud. They were so obvious that they seemed to have left my lips on their own, without asking for my consent.

The corner of his lips twitched, as if he wanted to smile but did not allow himself to. One of his hands went back to my cheek and brushed a lone strand of my hair behind my ear. His eyes returned to my own, and I knew he was smiling, although there was no smile on his face – it lurked somewhere in his gaze.

Just those simple motions, those little touches made me extremely happy and serene. That was why I did not want them to stop.

"You are not running away," he noticed instead of responding to my words. That sentence, though, was in some weird way connected to what I had just said, or maybe to what was happening between us. "I wonder why. You should have run... I have given you so many chances... but you've never taken one."

"Why would I?" I asked, surprised, knowing he was right – he had not checked what I had been doing in my spare time even once. I had a feeling that if I had tried to make my way back to the world of day, I would be able to get out of here without too many problems... and I was not even sure whether he would do anything to stop me.

However, I did not want to run away from him. Somehow, I had got used to his presence, to living with him. That place, his kingdom of night, had already become my home, just like he had become my family.

"I do not want to run away, Master," I added quickly, shaking my head. "Why would I try to escape when I don't want to? I am happy here. I know I can learn things I have always wanted to learn. And I experience things... I would have never thought I could experience. Music surrounds me and fills up my heart. I do not need anything but that, my Angel. Why would I try to escape from what makes me happy?"

Apparently he had not expected to hear what I had just said, and all of sudden, I felt strangely ashamed of my own words. Blushing deeply, I closed my eyes, but he tipped my chin up, holding it right there so I would not be able to look away from him.

"Look at me, Arlette," he commanded and behind that soft veiling I knew a true order was hidden. There was no chance I could ignore that, so I did not even attempt to. Although my cheeks seemed to burn, I slowly raised my eyelids and glanced at him hesitantly, with the same shyness that he had always awoken in me.

I knew I could not hide anything from him at that moment, when he glanced into my eyes. It was as if our bodies and minds became one.

"Is it true, then?" he asked, and at first, I wanted to pretend I did not understand what he was talking about, but then realised there was no point in it. Biting my lips, though, I did not answer immediately. Moreover, I tried to look away, but his hold on my chin was surprisingly strong, and I was not able to turn my head.

His words, along with his behaviour, made me feel trapped. He knew he had a power over me – and he knew how to use it.

"Is it true that you feel happy here, Arlette?" he repeated, his voice strangely hard, even though he did not raise it. However, he made it clear to me that he expected a response – and it would be better for me to do it now.

Slowly, I moved my head. Up and down. Hoping that it would be enough, that he would understand that it was a yes. And maybe he did – but he went on further, wanting to make sure, or wanting to torment me more.

"Say that, say that out loud," he demanded, and I could hear a peculiar note of desperation in that one sentence. Like a child who wanted to savour every single word of their parents' promise. "I want to hear it."

How could I refuse when I heard that? And those sparkles in his eyes accented his words even more. No, I could not say no.

"I am happy, monsieur," I mouthed, almost unable to say anything at all. My lips were weak, so weak that it was hard for me to form any word. "Right here... in this world of night... in this kingdom of music."

I could see a smile brightening up his face. Without a second thought, he pulled me closer to him, hiding me in his embrace, making me feel safe again. I had needed it so much for the past several weeks, although I felt too ashamed of myself to admit that. But would that have changed anything? I could not have just asked him to protect me with his wings, even though that was exactly what was necessary to make me feel better.

"Then promise... promise me once again, but honestly," he added, tangling his fingers into my hair. "Promise you will stay here forever."

Making any promises did not sound right, though. I was afraid of breaking them – and it would hurt him. On the other hand, did I really want to return to the world I had lived in before, if I felt happy where I was?

"I promise," I replied, this time knowing I was not doing that out of fear – but because I truly wanted it.

His forehead met mine, like back then, when he had taken his mask off. I wished he would do that again this time... His hands cupped my cheeks, his thumbs kept caressing my skin, and wherever he touched me, I felt burning.

"I will make you happy," he swore, making my eyelids fall. "And you will be mine."

His nose touched mine. I did not even try to resist.


	21. Con sordino

Lying in my bed, I stared at the ceiling, still not believing in what had happened. I knew that Madame would have told me it had been indecent, and it probably had been, but somehow, I could not force myself to regretting that. Of course, I should have. We barely knew each other and I kept telling myself we were just friends... that he was my tutor, and I was his student... but if that had happened, I should have felt ashamed of myself.

And yet, I did not. Actually, I could not stop thinking of those several seconds, which had been at the same an eternity and just a blink of an eye to me. Did I want it to happen once again? No. I wanted it to happen over and over again. I knew Madame – as well as the society – would have condemned me, but I did not find enough strength in me to even try to make myself believe I did not want that.

At least, I should have stopped thinking about that, but I kept recalling that moment again and again. My lips were parted and a quiet sigh escaped them as my fingertips touched them. It had been like a fairytale, like a good dream to me – not something that had really happened – and still, it was more real than anything else.

Because how could I believe that my Angel's lips met mine just before an hour or two? Of course, a teacher should have never treated his student like that, but I had not opposed – moreover, I had probably encouraged him to do so. Then how could I regret that if I knew that what had happened filled me up with happiness?

It was nothing but a soft, innocent kiss that had lasted for not more than a couple of seconds, right when he had touched my nose with his own and pulled me closer to him. Even now my heart began throbbing at the thought alone. Back then, I had thought it would have driven me insane. How would I have been able to push him away at such a moment if my body – what he had definitely felt – practically begged for it?

This one single thing had made me so happy that I wanted to scream; I wanted to share my happiness with the rest of the world. And more than anything else, I wanted to tell Meg... however, I knew I could not. If Madame got to know, I could be sure I would be punished. If she got to know about that, she would be so furious at me... or maybe not even furious. What I was afraid of was that she would be disappointed.

Blushing deeply, I rolled onto my stomach and hid my face in the pillow. Just the previous night I had been crying myself to sleep – right now, I could not fall asleep because of my happiness. As if I had just found what I had been looking for.

But was it not like that? And I was sure that I had seen a happy look in my Angel's eyes when he glanced at me, touching my cheek for the last time that evening before wishing me a good night. I had wanted him to stay with me for a while longer, but at the same time, both of us realised it would have been unwise. I needed to wake up early in the morning so we could continue our lessons.

Right now, that was our priority. I needed to study hard so when I got back to the world of day, I could do my best. After all, that was why he had tried so much to make me play the lead. He had done so much for me. Now, I needed to repay him with the best I could, with all I had: my voice and my talent, and my passion put into the role.

It was not even for myself. I had spent in my Angel's kingdom a couple of months already, and my dream of fame had weakened. It had not faded away, at least not yet; right now, I just wanted to serve his music. Just like he did – was it not the main reason why he had brought me to his world?

I had not even noticed when he had taken the main place in my mind and heart. That was why I had been missing him so terribly when he had not spent much time with me. That was why I desired his touch more than anything else.

It would be easy to call me a fool at that moment – and that was probably what I was. A fool. A young, foolish girl. But I did not feel bad because of that, even though maybe I should have. But everyone does have their right to act and think foolish at certain moments. And what else was I if not just a young girl?

I took a deep breath and closed my eyes. At last the sleep I had been wishing for started to take over me, and I did not even try to fight. That night would be a good night, I knew that. Full of happy and serene dreams... after all, what could it be like when my mind and heart were both filled with that one thought?

I loved him.

* * *

My thoughts kept rushing through my mind as I sat down at the desk. Just before a moment she had left me, but I needed that moment alone. Just to wrap my mind around what had just happened... because I could not believe it.

No-one before her had ever done that to me. No-one had let me touch them so willingly... no-one had ever opened their heart so wide for me to see what was inside. And yet, she seemed to trust me completely. There was no lie in her. She did not try to hide anything from me. Such a naïve, innocent girl.

Her skin felt so silky underneath my fingertips... if I had not forced myself to stop and pull away, I was not quite sure how far I would have gone. And yet, I did not want to defile her. She was way too fragile, and I did not want to hurt her, after all. Sometimes my urges were against my wishes, but that time, my body managed to listen to my reason. Maybe because it was her... I would not have been able to do it if it had not been her.

I sighed deeply and rested my head on my hands. She was so kind and gentle with me, despite the fact she had seen me without it. The mask. My uncertainty had disappeared the very moment I had seen that look in her eyes when I had been holding her close to me. Because at first, I had not been quite sure whether it had been a good choice to show her all of me. Now, I realised I had been avoiding her for nothing.

Why did she not hate me? Why did she not feel trapped with me, although everyone before her would have felt so? What was so special about her that did not make her want to run away, even though she had that chance?

Of course, I did want to keep her there, with me, but at the same time, I could not force myself to try to stop her. Maybe my past had changed me... before her, I would have hurt the one who had tried to get out. But not her. Not my Arlette, my little singing Angel, the one whom I would make my goddess...

My hand trembled as I reached up to the mask and simply pulled it off, tossing it away from me. I hated that cursed thing, but at the same time, it had been my only friend for so many years. But would it change now, as I had Arlette?

When I had taken it off back then, she had not looked at me with fear or disgust. She had touched my face as if it had not been distorted... as if it had really been a face of an angel I had always wished to be. But I could not understand why she did not hate me because of my face. No-one would be able to love a monster like me.

And yet...

I closed my eyes, feeling tears rolling down my cheeks. I knew I should not have let myself cry – and I was not even quite sure what kind of tears they were. They were both sweet and bitter. They brought both happiness and pain.

If I let her go, if I lost my little Arlette, there would be no reason for my existence. And she might want to run away from me once I let her go back to her world. I would accompany her, but I would not be with her all the time. And it would still be her own choice whether she wanted to stay there or go with me.

I was surprised with my own thoughts. If it was not Arlette, I would try to force her to return with me, whether she wanted it or not. But not her. I was afraid of destroying her as she seemed to be so delicate in my arms.

With one swift motion, I wiped away all of my tears. She would be mine. She would never leave me, I was sure of that. And it would not be because I forced her to – but because she wanted it just as much as I wanted her – I had seen that in her eyes when she had whispered that promise. There was no way she could have lied to me... no, I would never believe she would be capable of lying to me, her Angel.

Yes, I felt that in her eyes, I was an angel. With a face of a devil, but an angel nevertheless. I could not understand that, and I doubted anyone would. There was no reason for her to feel happy with me. I had trapped her, deceived her. I had done things no-one would be able to forgive me. And yet, she had already forgotten...

My hand moved quickly as notes appeared as if from nothingness on the staff. I was not even thinking of what I was writing – the melody formed at the very moment I wrote it down. Never before had I been in such a state. Although I did know what inspiration was, it felt nothing like that. It was more like madness. Like obsession. I was not able of stopping at that moment – something else possessed me at that very moment. It was simply using my body to create that music. Music meant only for my Angel.

She was my everything. There was nothing without her – nothing before or after her. If she left, I could live no longer. But I believed, yes, blindly, that she would never leave me alone. That she would stay with me forever.

Because she needed me just as much as I needed her. Because I made her just as happy as she made me. Because she wanted to stay as much as I wanted her to stay.

Because she loved me just as much as I loved her.

* * *

I knew my mother told me not to do that, but I could not just let it be. I had been waiting too long – how much longer? And what did she expect me to do? To wait, maybe even forever, without getting to know what was happening to my friend? She might have got killed by now – but I needed to make sure she was not. And if (I needed to stop thinking that way) if she was not... I had to help her get out of that loathsome place.

What terrified me most was that I was slowly losing hope of seeing her safe and sound. Or even alive...

What kind of a friend would I be if I had not decided to go and look for her, to rescue her? Because I was sure she needed my help. If she had not returned until now, it could only mean that she was not able to run away. I was certain that he kept her there against her own will. She was so naïve, maybe she did not even try to escape, afraid of hurting him? I knew that he could manipulate her easily. He knew how to play with people, and she was probably easier to play with than any average person.

That was why she was who she was. Her mind and heart were delicate – it would be so easy to crush them. Maybe I and my mother had made a mistake. Maybe we should have made sure she were more earthbound... but she had always been so fragile. There was so much love in her – especially for music and art. Her soul made her that way... it seemed to be against her nature to teach her how to be down-to-earth. But for her own safety... maybe it would have been better if we had destroyed that love...

But would she still be the same person? Would she be my Arlette...?

My mother would need to forgive me, but I could not wait anymore. I could not stay uncertain until the end of the world. Probably there was no other chance for Arlette to come back to real life but me. I needed to help her.

It had taken a couple of days, but at last, I managed to find that secret door leading to her room – I was sure it was what I had been looking for. It had to be the way the Phantom had got to her... where he had stolen her.

The door was hidden behind the curtain, and actually, one would not be able to notice it, but I had put so much energy into that search... I had checked every single inch of her room to find how he had managed to steal her away from her room without even opening the door. It turned out there was a way... but it was not really a way out.

It could be the greatest mistake I would ever do... but I did not care. My friend was so much more important. Having left a note for my mother in my room, I took a deep breath as I made my way to Arlette's chamber, and then...

...then down, down, to the deepest parts of hell.


	22. Feroce

I was surprised that my Angel did not wake me up the next morning, but apparently he had decided I needed some rest. And I certainly did. So much had happened as of late that when I had fallen asleep that night, I had not had any dreams at all – my body simply had needed some time to regenerate so when I woke up, I felt much better. Of course, it took me a while to wrap my mind around the reality. What at first seemed to be just a wonderful dream was in fact what had truly happened, and that thought filled my heart with so much happiness.

When I got up, I noticed that once again there was a new dress placed on my bed. Smiling gently, I touched it – and what surprised me most was the fact that it was probably made of silk. Never before had I touched anything as soft as this gown, and it made me pretty curious. Where had he got it from? Had he sewn it by himself or had he bought it somewhere – and if so, how and when had he got away from his kingdom without me noticing?

This time, the dress was light pink and it made me think of some kind of a beautiful yet innocent rose. It was very simple, without any ornaments, and probably that fact made it so amazing.

Without a second thought, I took off my nightgown (another gift from my Angel) and began getting dressed. It felt like putting on some air, or maybe a cloud. I knew it was there, and yet, I could hardly feel anything, so soft it was.

It was pretty amusing that until now I had not paid much attention to my looks, and yet... yes, I wanted to be pretty. Or even more, I wanted to be beautiful – because my Angel deserved it. I knew it was quite absurd, but I could not fight it. I simply wanted him to have all the best – and I wanted to improve in every way possible.

Now, as I thought of those times when I had called him monster... I felt ashamed of myself. Never had he deserved such a treating from me. He had always wanted the best for me – from the very beginning; I just could not appreciate it as I had not understood it. Now, I knew that he had been aware of what would be best for me; I had made a good choice when I had decided to trust him anyways.

After all, had there ever been a reason for me to trust him?

I still hardly knew him – the majority of what I knew, I had heard from Madame, and she had warned me that he could be cruel and impulsive. For now, I had not seen his cruelty – however, it might have been just a matter of time. I hoped not... but I was aware of the fact that despite me loving him, I needed to be careful.

And yet, I could not help but smile at the thought. Yes, I loved him, and everytime I repeated that to myself, I felt a wonderful tickling in my heart. It was foolish of me, but I did not pay enough attention to this dark side of him. What I had seen made me believe he was truly an unhappy Angel, and my only intention was to make him as happy as he made me.

Because, whether I wanted it or not, he did make me happy. And nothing could change that, even that he could once become brutal.

Once I was ready, I left my room and entered the main hall. I had not expected to see him there, so I was surprised to notice him sitting at the desk, writing something. My heart began beating much faster than it was supposed to, so I took a deep breath to calm myself down before approaching him.

It took him a while to realise I was there, right next to him – there were many pages written all over tossed around him. Never before had I seen him in such a state. Apparently he had been sitting there all night, composing. It surprised me that he had not used his harpsichord for that, but maybe this music played so loudly in his head that he did not require any instrument but his own hands and mind.

But it still was not the strangest thing about it all.

What shocked me most was the fact that he did not have his mask on his face. I blinked, not quite sure whether it was not my imagination playing tricks with my head, but no, it was not – once again, I could see his real face. A sudden pinch of pain pierced right through my heart; I hated the fact that his face had destroyed the majority of his life, but at the same time, I did not hate him for his looks.

"Master," I started slowly, tilting my head slightly to the side, glancing curiously at the score underneath his hand. "Angel..."

That was when he moved a bit and looked up at me. When our eyes met, I smiled gently, and once I saw his own smile, I knew everything would be alright.

"Arlette," he murmured, and his deep voice echoed in my ears. I loved the way he spoke my name since I had first met him. Since I had first heard him say it out loud. At that moment, I thought that maybe I had fallen in love with him when he had first called me.

His hand reached up and he caressed my cheek with the backs of his fingers. My eyelids once again became strangely heavy, and I let out a soft sigh, leaning my face closer to his touch, as if it could make him feel it better.

"You look like an angel," he added, putting his quill aside and standing up. Once he did that, he cupped my cheeks in his hands and kissed my forehead, what made my heart beat much faster. "I am glad you liked the dress enough to put it on. I thought it would suit you just right... and I was not wrong."

"It's perfect," I admitted honestly, placing my hand on the back of his own as I glanced up at him, making our eyes meet.

Now, I could see well that he had not slept at all that night: he was tired and definitely sleepy, but it did not look like he was going to rest now, as he took my hand and pulled me closer to the desk he had been working at.

"I created some pieces especially for you," he added, gesturing to the pages he had tossed around. "And I want us to practice at least a part of them today... and tomorrow. And I won't let you out before we're finished with all of them."

The corner of his lips twitched slightly, and I was not quite sure whether it meant that he was joking or not.

On the other hand, though, did it really make so much of a difference to me? I would not mean it if I had to stay with him forever, even if I would never leave that place for the shortest of whiles. What had once had such a great meaning to me, did not matter anymore, or at least I did not think of that as much as I had used to.

"Let us start the lesson, then," I answered with a soft smile, but at the same time, I could not help but feel pretty worried about him. He definitely had not slept the previous night, and he seemed to be quite tired. I did not want him to get hurt, so I would rather practice by myself than let him grow even weaker.

As he nodded his head, he gently touched my cheek and once he took the paper, he led me to the harpsichord.

"Are you sure, though, that you do not want to rest a bit, my Angel?" I asked with worry in my voice, and he glanced at me, a bit surprised. "You seem to have been working all night," I added quickly, "and although I would love to continue with this lesson... I am not quite sure whether you should not go to sleep."

"There is no need to worry about me, my child," he responded, giving my hand a little squeeze, apparently to calm me down, but it did not work. However, I could not force myself to argue with him, although I thought I should have. Still, I was afraid of making him angry, so I decided not to risk it.

Not mentioning it anymore, I started my excercises. At first, I did not sing any of the melodies he had written for me, just did a little warm-up, one of many he had taught me. He stayed there, making sure I did it all right.

After an hour or so, my Angel handed me one of the scores, and I quickly looked through the notes. It did not seem to be difficult – the melody was gentle, besides, it was not fast. What was the hardest thing to me now was to learn how to make the fast pieces sound melodious, how to make the words sound understandable.

He started gently with me, apparently, so I was supposed to sing a tune that I would soon turn out to love.

And I indeed started loving it with the very first note. It was all pretty high, but it was not a hard thing to me. After those weeks spent in this kingdom, I had learnt to reach the notes I had never thought I would reach – moreover, they were now an easy thing to me, what surprised me even more.

The melodies he had composed for me that night were the only ones I did not begin to hate after all oll of those excercises. Usually, when we were finished, I could no longer listen to the melody I had been singing. But it did not happen that time. What was more, my heart seemed to be soaring as I repeated every for the millionth time.

However, I could see him getting weaker and weaker with every next song, and at last I took a deep breath and placed my hand on his shoulder.

"Please, monsieur," I spoke before he had managed to touch the keys of the harpsichord. "I cannot look at you so tired... I can practice by myself today, and I shall share my achievements with you tomorrow... but I know you haven't slept for a longer while, and I do not want you to get hurt because of that."

I could see him getting serious, and for a while, I was afraid he would get angry, so I stepped back a little, but did not take my hand off of his shoulder. However, he did not start yelling at me; instead, he took my hand from his shoulder and gently kissed it before nuzzling into it. I thought it was amazing that he had managed not to put his mask on all this time. The feeling of his skin right against mine was so sweet...

"I hate to see sadness in your heavenly eyes, my sweet," he whispered, but I would have sworn he sang it, and my heart fluttered lightly. "If it were not for you, I would never agree... but I cannot let you worry about such a demon."

I opened my mouth to protest, but before I could, he stood up and placed another kiss, this time upon my shoulder.

"Practice well, my child, and I shall listen to you tomorrow," he answered, tucking a lose strand of my hair behind my ear. I thought I could see a smile on his face, but before I made sure about that, he turned back to leave. He stopped only for a while to lean down to pick up his mask before he left.

With a sigh, I took one of the pages and sat down at the harpsichord to start playing the melody. I wanted to learn it all by heart before I started singing it. Now, as he was not there, I could try this method for the first time; this way, I could put more emotion into my singing, focus only on that instead of reading the melody.

Therefore, when I began singing, it felt so much better than before. I imagined so many things the melody depicted. Nothing in that world mattered as much as music at that moment – it was almost as if the song had possessed me, cast the very same spell upon me my Angel had mastered... or maybe was it because he had created it...?

Yet out of sudden, I was cruelly pulled out of that sweet world of music and back into the dark dungeons. At first, I could not understand what was happening, so I looked around, quite confused, not able to recognise the sound.

It was simply too prosaic for me to recognise at such a moment, when the magic of this music filled me, but after a while, I understood what it was, and my eyes widened in terror. Once again, I turned around, but saw nothing.

It had definitely been a woman's scream. And I was afraid I could recognise the voice. That was what scared me most.

"Meg!" I called into the nothingness, running towards the source of the scream, but I did not manage to leave the hall when I saw him.

My Angel. His face distorted with fury. There was a cord in his hands, and it was definitely wrapped around someone's neck. And it was not just a someone. My fears actually turned out to be true.

Right before him, there was Meg, looking at me with horror in her eyes, trying to free herself from the grasp of death.

"You! You little demon!" My Angel's voice was so changed I could hardly recognise it. I found it difficult even to look at him, and although I wanted to help my friend, I understood I was stepping back. "You little succubus! You brought her here, didn't you?!"


	23. Interlude

It was a difficult night for the woman. She kept tossing and turning in her bed, and finally, early in the morning, she decided to get up, unable to fall asleep at all. She had a bad feeling, but in fact, she did not know what it was about. Maybe it had something to do with that poor girl, Arlette, who had been gone for a few months already...

Yes, she knew she should have already tried to get to know what had happened to her, but there was no way of finding out without alarming anyone. And even if she knew how to do it, he would certainly get furious. After all, she had already given her word that she would not get involved into anything that time... and she had been protecting the girl as much as she could, but she could not force her to stay.

Maybe she should have attempted to stop the poor girl... as her guardian, she knew what would be best for her... but she could only lead Arlette – she could not make her follow her. Although Meg's friend was still a child to her, to the rest of the world, she was already a grown-up woman. She was allowed to make her own choices. Besides, the woman knew that one day she would need to let her free, anyways...

The woman got up and put on her clothes, gathering her hair into a tight bun on the top of her head soon after. This story might not have a good ending, she thought. It could be a tragedy... but I have already allowed it to happen. If I try to stop it, it would turn out to be even worse. That is why Meg cannot get involved, either.

With a sigh, she left her room to check on her daughter, still lost in her thoughts. And those were pretty grim thoughts.

Nothing good could have met Arlette in that kingdom of music and night. For although the man who called himself the Opera Ghost knew how to be charming and how to cast a spell upon the ones who loved music, he was not the one who should get in touch with people as fragile as Arlette. He would be a good teacher for her, yes, she believed that, but at the same time, she knew it was not about teaching her, at least not only.

The girl deserved someone young and full of energy, so unlike the one who had decided to make her his bride. Not to mention, he was uncapable of loving anyone the way a young girl should be loved.

He was possessive and obsessive. His love would rather harm her than give her the happiness she deserved. And there was nothing and no-one that he would ever love more than music. Even the one he had chosen... the one he had brought to his kingdom, to the hell she would never be able to return from.

"Meg," she said quietly, knocking on the door leading to her daughter's room. Meg would be still sleeping, as she thought, so she was pretty surprised not to see her there as she walked in. "Meg?" she repeated, this time with nervousness in her voice.

Having not received any response, the woman began looking for the younger everywhere. She even went to check if her daughter had not gone to practice; she often did that when she could not sleep or was worried... so maybe this time it would be like this, too... but Meg was not excercising, either. She was not even in Arlette's room.

But what caught her eye was the fact that the curtain that usually hid the majority of the wall was now moved aside, revealing a hole large enough to let a grown-up man in. And that was certainly a very bad sign.

"Oh Meg," Madame sighed quietly, hiding her face in her hands. "I have told you not to look for her... what have you gotten yourself into..."

And having taken a deep breath, she stepped in to disappear in the darkness.


	24. Poco a poco ardente

I was so scared I could hardly reach my voice. Although I tried to say something, I ended up only opening and closing my mouth like a fish taken out of water. And yet, I knew that every second of my hesitation and silence was a second closer to Meg's death. And although I did love my Angel, I also loved Meg, and I did not want her to get hurt.

At the same time, I was afraid that my attempts to stop the man would make him furious, and that would be a death sentence to my friend. That meant that I needed to think of something gentle... and I needed to think of it _now._

"It... it was not me, I swear," I said quietly, and my voice trembled – just as I did. Wrapping my arms around myself, I wondered if touching him at that moment would be a good idea or maybe it would make him even more furious. However, would he believe just my words if I had no other way of showing him that I was honest with him? "I did not know Meg was looking for me... and... good God..."

"It... it wasn't her," whispered Meg as she kept struggling for air; it seemed to be even more difficult with every next moment. I needed to help but did not know how – I did not want to do any harm to either of them. With this one difference that right now it was Meg who was in danger... on the other hand, I knew that any wrong move would lead to something even worse... not only for her, but for me, too.

My Angel's eyes turned from me to Meg, and I could see a nasty smirk upon his lips. It was not a good sign, and a quiet squeal escaped me, what made him look back at me. I quickly pressed a hand to my lips.

"You are trying to protect one another, I can see that. I can feel that. I hear that in the sound of your voices," he hissed. I noticed that the knot on Meg's neck tightened; she was a step away from fainting.

"No! My Angel... I swear... I had no idea... but I beg you... let her go... she's going to die if you don't!"

"I have some experience in this, don't you know?" he asked in a tone which I had never heard from his lips, and which made me step away from him in terror. "I know how to kill people. How to make them suffer. And if I was not the one to invite someone to my kingdom, I will always make sure they will not leave it alive."

Then he truly wanted to kill Meg. He did not care about the fact that she was my friend. That she was his friend's daughter. He really was a ruthless person – could I love someone like him? Would I put this love above my friend's life?

"Stop it!"

Those two words escaped me without me even noticing that. I guessed she must have come there to protect me, and now, I needed to protect her. I loved my Angel, but I could never let him hurt my friend. My friend who was so close to me that I could truly call her my sister. Otherwise, I would have her blood on my hands.

He looked at me with anger mixed with surprise. Apparently he had not expected such a behaviour from me – but if he had not, then what had he expected? That I would blindly agree, even though it would mean that Meg would die?

"Please... Master," I added a bit quieter this time, placing one of my hands on his own, quite terrified that it was still holding the rope wrapped around Meg's neck. I quickly raised my eyes up not to look at it; my sight met his. "Take me instead of her. Kill me, but not my only friend. I will never be able to look at you again if you kill her."

It was obviouos that upon hearing my words, he began to fight with his own feelings. I had no idea what he thought of, and what he actually felt. But at that very moment, he seemed to be terrified, furious and despaired at the same time. His hands trembled, and Meg let out a characteristic sound of choking, but although my own hand twitched, I dared not take it off of his wrist.

I could see in his eyes that he did not want to kill me. Was I not scared? Of course I was. I was so horrified that I began wondering if I had made a good choice saying that. I did not want to die, and if I was not right and he did not love me enough not to want me hurt, I would be dead the very next moment.

However, I did not die. Neither did Meg. However, she was already unconscious, and she collapsed the moment he let go of her. I did not even manage to catch her, although I tried. As soon, though, as I noticed she was breathing, I glanced up at my Angel once more. Until now, I had not noticed there were tears in my eyes.

"Take me now," I whispered, unable to say it any louder. My hand reached to the rope, and soon, although slowly, I wrapped it around my own neck.

"Stop it," he answered in a weak voice, letting go of the rope that soon slid down from my shoulders and landed on the ground. Without a second thought, I leant down to pick it up and wrap it around my neck once again.

He looked at me with so much shock that I had to force myself not to move away from him. In a second, he reached to my neck and pulled the cord away from me, tossing it away; I could see it drowning in the lake.

"Stop it!" he yelled this time, and for a moment, I was under the impression that he would strangle me with his own bare hands. However, he did nothing to hurt me. Instead, he hid his face in his hands and turned away from me. "You... you truly are... a demon... Arlette, why... why are you doing this to me?"

It would not be a lie to say I did not understand what he had meant. I stepped towards him, trying to place my hand on his shoulder, but I resigned halfways. With a sigh, I lowered my hand as well as my eyes.

"You have me wrapped around your little finger, Arlette. She's entered my kingdom without my permission... she had to die... then why did you stop me? Why are you trying to change me into a man I am not?"

"I... I am not trying to achieve anything like that," I answered quickly, so shocked with his words that I hardly knew what to say. My voice was shaking just like the rest of me, and at last, I wrapped my arms around myself once again. "I know who you are... but I cannot let you kill the ones I love."

When he turned towards me once again, I could see that his face was covered in tears – just like mine. With this one difference that I could not understand why he was crying. I wanted to understand, though. I wanted to know what was happening in his head, but he seemed not to be willing to share it with me.

I had a feeling that although he truly loved me, he did not know how to trust me enough to tell me what he thought or felt, and I had no idea how to show him that he could trust me with anything. I would never dare hurt him.

"But you would not hesitate to hurt the ones I love, little demon," he replied, but I did not hear anger in his voice. What I did hear, though, was pain... so much of it that it pierced right through my heart.

"I did not..." I began, but he cut in.

"You tried to hurt yourself, Arlette. You put that rope around your own neck... and nothing like that should have ever happened. I do not want you hurt," he responded quickly, placing his hand on my neck. I shivered.

If I had ever doubted that he could love me... now I understood he truly knew what was love. Maybe even better than I did. However, at that very moment, I realised I loved him more than I had ever expected to love anyone. Despite what he had just done... although I still felt hurt that he tried to kill my best friend.

There was no escape. If I had thought I had been trapped when he had first brought me there, I had been wrong. Now, though, I knew I could not escape. Not because he would not let me go. Because I would not survive that.

"And I do not want Meg hurt," I whispered, resting my hand on his own. "She's all I have had for so many years, my Angel. She's my family... my everything. Or at least she has been my everything until now."

Although his eyes were fixed upon my neck, which had been so close to be hurt before a moment, as he heard my words, he raised them to meet my own. I felt so strange when they did, but I did not try to turn my sight away. Even though the way he looked at me seemed to be asking me to explain...

But how could I explain that to him? I was sure he knew perfectly what I felt. And it would be so indecent of me to tell him I loved him. Especially in a moment like that. Right now, I felt I should have just taken Meg to my bed and made sure she was alright. After all, she had come for me. To rescue me. And she had almost been killed... because of me.

On the other hand, though, I was afraid that if I left my Angel right now, he would get hurt. If I had already started, I should finish. He deserved at least that. After all, he had sacrificed so much more for me.

"You are a part of my world now, my Angel," I added after a moment, feeling that my voice was soon going to break. I could not let that happen... otherwise I would not find enough courage to start it all over once again.

"I am your Angel," he murmured, nodding, then gently caressed my face. "You chose me as one... and I am going to protect you with all I have. I will show you the way... I shall lead and shield you. Nothing bad shall ever happen to you."

His hand once again brushed a strand of my hair behind my ear. I trusted him with my mind, heart and soul – and it was the trap I had been caught in. I could never stop trusting or loving him, even if he did terrible things. Because I needed him exactly the way he was right now. I did not try to change him, and I knew I would never do that.

"You belong to me, Arlette... and no-one... no-one, not even I, shall ever hurt you. Do you understand?" he asked seriously, looking straight into my eyes. He was not smiling, even though his glance was softer than I had expected it to be.

I understood. With a small nod, I showed him I did.

"But I... I made a promise," I responded, trying to explain myself; for some reason, I felt the need to apologise to him for what I had done. "I told you not to kill Meg in exchange for my own life. I thought... I thought I needed to give my life for hers. To pay for the mercy you showed to her... you deserved payment."

He grimaced slightly, taking my hands away from me and combing his hair with his fingers in a gesture of despair.

"I would never... how could you... Arlette," he groaned with a pained expression before looking at me once again. "I thought you understood how much I loved you. I did it all for you, not for your friend. And I would never dare hurt you. Not because I'm afraid of what your friend or whoever else thinks. Because I do not want to lose you."

Was there a more beautiful way of telling "I love you"? If there was, I could not think of it, amazed with his words.

"And I do not want to lose you, either," I confessed at last, reaching for his hand. He did not move it away, so I laced our fingers together – just like they should have been. My heart was racing in my chest as I stepped closer to him, not taking my eyes off of him. To me, he was the most beautiful of angels.

His free hand once again rested on my cheek. Within a moment I was already leaning closer to his touch, taking a deep breath not only to calm down, but to feel his scent. I wanted to be as close to him as possible.

"Say it... Arlette, say it out loud," he murmured, already so close to me that I could feel our chests meeting. I knew how it had ended last time... and although I knew it would be considered indecent, I did not try not to let it happen again. Actually, I found myself wanting it... just as much – or even more – as I had wanted it back then.

"Say what?" I asked quietly as he put his forehead against mine.

"Say that you love me," he begged as his thumb caressed my bottom lip with a gentleness I had never experienced before. Not even from him.

His request seemed to be so natural... he knew about my feelings. Then why did he want me to talk about them? On the other hand... I realised how much I adored it when he told me that he loved me. Could I really refuse?

"I should take care of Meg," I muttered, still hesitating. However, it was so hard to focus on that when he kept caressing me like that.

"Just say it," he demanded once more, and I could not resist anymore.

"I do... I do love you, my Angel," I whispered only as my eyelids fell. I knew I should not feel so wonderful, knowing what he had done before a moment... knowing that there was Meg, still unconscious, a couple of feet away from us...

And yet, I felt wonderful.

My Angel apparently needed no more. Somehow I felt him smiling as he leant even closer to me to close my lips with his own.

There was no chance I could notice Madam emerging from the darkness.


	25. Piano e calmato

The woman could see them. In a situation in which she would have never wished to see anyone – but especially the two of them. Of course, she wished both of them happiness, as both of them meant a lot to her... but she had never thought they would ever end up together. And now, she was not even sure whether she wanted them to be together.

They definitely did not seem to create a proper, healthy couple. They differed so much... after all, she was such a young, naïve girl. And he... he was much older... and although he was talented, his mind was distorted. Her love did not equal his. They simply did not fit to be together... even if they worked hard...

That was when she noticed the one lying on the ground. At first, she did not want to believe her own eyes... but then, she had to force herself to believe. It was no-one else but her own daughter, lying there, while the two were kissing. And she did not move. Did it mean? Oh, dear God, no... it could not mean...

Of course, she knew that it was possible. That Erik was capable of killing Meg; he would not pay much attention to the fact that she was her daughter. She knew he hated whenever someone entered this place without his permission... and whoever did, needed to die. And he would certainly kill them with his own hands...

But would he really do that if Arlette was there? Had he already distorted her mind just as much as his was? Would she ever allow him to raise his hand on her only friend...? No, Madame did not believe something like that could have happened...

But if it had not, then what _had_?

Slowly, she began walking out of the shadows. She knew she had to be careful, otherwise she would end up exactly like Meg had – or even worse, because she still would not dare admit that Meg could be dead. However, she had to take her daughter out of this place. And it would be better if Arlette accompanied them... if she did not, she probably would stay there forever, and she did not believe a young woman like Arlette would like to live such a life. Even if she truly thought that she loved Erik.

It probably was some kind of a fascination. Maybe even strong enough for a young, inexperienced girl to be mistaken for love. However, it was not possible it could be love. Fondness... respect... of course. She had to admire him for the music he created – after all, she loved music almost as much as he did.

But it was not enough.

And yet, Madame still could see him caressing Arlette's face, looking at her as if she was some kind of a wonder, not a living human. That longing in his eyes that betrayed he wanted her to be completely his... then why did she not protest? Why was she so compliant that it looked like she wanted it? Arlette was not that kind of a girl. She wanted to achieve things. To learn and to show her skills to the world. And he probably would never allow her to leave this place... did she not know that?

"I love you," she whispered quietly, and yet, the echo brought it loud and clear right to the older woman's ears. "I truly do, my Angel."

Madame closed her eyes, grimacing, as if something hurt her. Then he was an angel to her, too. Just like he had once been to Christine... but Christine had fought for her life. Arlette did not even try. Why did she not?

Once again, she began repeating in her mind the reasons why she would not be able to love a man like Erik. He was twice her age, or even older! She could be his daughter... That reason was more than enough to prove they would never be a proper couple. Once her fascination was over... she would look at him like everyone else did. It would hurt him, and she would feel trapped in a place like this, with such a broken man. And while he would be old enough to say he had lived his life... she would still be young. Young but with no hope for tomorrow. She would never be able to live a normal life again.

"Go and take care of your friend," murmured Erik, at last letting Arlette go. "But I want you to warn her... just as I warn you now. If she ever dares to trespass on my property again... I will not hesitate. And I will not listen to your cries. Whoever enters this place without my permission, has to die. And I shall kill her like I would anyone else."

Arlette had to understand, even though her face went pale once she had heard that. With a deep breath to calm down, she nodded her head.

"I understood, Master," she responded quietly.

Without a moment of hesitation, she stepped away from him and leant down to pick her friend up, however, the man, seeing that, stopped her and did it himself. He took Meg's motionless body into his arms as if she was a doll, then brought her to another room. Arlette did not say a word, just followed him.

From this point, Madame could not see anything else, and walking even deeper into the beast's lair seemed to be insane.

* * *

Seeing my Angel placing Meg in my bed so gently, I smiled softly and thanked him. From now on, it was me who needed to take care of her. He had already done much more than he had been supposed to... and I was truly thankful to him. As I sighed, I sat down on the edge of the bed and watched Meg's pale face. I could see a dark bruise forming around her neck, and it caused pain to me, but I knew everything would be fine soon.

I wondered if Madame had already noticed that she had disappeared... she was probably terribly worried. First me, then Meg... and Meg was her real daughter. It was obvious that it would worry Madame if she did not return to her soon.

With a sigh, I brushed a strand of hair away from Meg's face. She was so brave to have come there for me... and I truly was grateful to her. That was why I needed to warn her the very moment she woke up. However, she did not seem to be any closer to waking up now than she had been before a while.

I did not know how long I had been sitting there when I heard his steps again. My body was numb, but I moved to glance at him. I even managed to smile gently... but he would always bring a smile onto my face.

"You should go to sleep," he said quietly, placing his hand on my shoulder. "You've been here for a couple of hours already. Nothing bad should've happened to her. I... I was not even close to killing her, even though I truly wanted to."

He did not even try to excuse himself, but I understood that. Nevertheless, I did not want to agree with him. For now, I was needed there, right next to Meg. I could stand another few hours without sleeping. Without a word, then, I just shook my head and looked back at my friend, at the same time putting my hand upon his.

"Do not make me remind you that I will not let anyone hurt you... not even yourself," he answered, apparently annoyed with my response. "You were supposed to practice. You haven't, but I understand that. At least let me give you another piece of advice and follow it, just like you promised once."

I felt myself blushing as I glanced at him, this time more hesitantly. Yes, I had once told him I would do anything he ordered me to do. If it was an order, then I was supposed to go to sleep without hesitation.

"Then let me at least practice for a while more. I haven't done anything today... I couldn't go to sleep knowing that," I requested, not sure whether it was a good choice to try and bargain with him. To my surprise, he did not get angry.

"Come, let's practice together," he offered, and this time, I dared not say no. With a small nod, I followed him to the main hall.

Now, though, he was not the one to sit at the harpsichord. Instead, he gestured at me to do it, and although surprised, I did it without any hesitation. I was not sure whether I could play and sing along well enough to let him listen to me, but I had nothing to say in that matter. I needed to do what he had told me to.

As he put the score on the instrument, I began playing. Nervously, I hit the wrong key serveral times, but he did not grimace even once, what was a great surprise to me. It was enough of a motivation to me, though, to focus more, and from now on, I stopped thinking of my Angel. I took a deep breath and began singing.

It was a long piece. I did not know how long it actually lasted, but I knew it was longer than anything I had ever sung until now. It was also difficult enough to require all of my attention, so I could not check what my tutor was doing.

"Once again," he demanded as soon as I finished, and those words, uttered in such a harsh tone, shocked me. Not daring discuss that with him, I nodded and turned the pages to start the song over again.

It repeated a couple of times. At last, I could hear him let out a deep sigh as he sat down next to me, taking my hands into his own.

"They are ice cold," he noticed, and the tone of his voice changed so drastically that I looked at him in surprise. He did not seem to notice that, though as he tried to warm me up. I was not cold, however, I was still nervous enough to feel my fingers go numb.

With a soft smile, he brough my hands up to his lips and placed a gentle kiss upon my knuckles. I loved when he did that. When this strict tutor changed into a gentle lover. Smiling, I closed my eyes to focus on that pleasure.

That was when I felt something strange.

As he pulled away, something even colder than my own hands began sliding down one of my fingers and it made me open my eyes so I could check what was happening. The first thing I noticed was his smiling face. Slowly, I lowered my sight to glance on my hands, which he still kept in his own.

"My Angel..." I started nervously, knowing it was improper, but he hushed me, placing one of his fingers on my lips.

"It's a sign," he responded, "that you belong to me... and that no-one is allowed to touch you. To steal you away from me. It is also a sign for you... that your heart is in my hands... and that you will always return to me."

Shivering, I glanced on my hand once more, still not sure whether I was more happy than shocked, or maybe terrified. To him, it might have been just a sign. But I knew what it meant in reality. And it did not mean that I did not want it... however it was all happening so quickly that I was not certain if it was a good choice.

The ring was shining on my finger like a star upon a night sky. He did not ask me to marry him. It was as if he had decided it instead of me... but did I not want it? No, it was not like that. I simply wanted to have the final word...

"Don't say no," he murmured, noticing a shadow of hesitation dancing upon my face.

So I did not say anything. I just stared at my hand, feeling tears gathering in my eyes. I was happy, yes. And moved... my heart kept beating fast with joy I had never experienced before. Nevertheless, I was not quite sure whether it was a good idea to get engaged so soon. I was still so young...

"It's a promise to you, my love," he added, seeing how troubled I was. Cupping my cheeks in his hands, he forced me to look up into his eyes. "That I will not let you go. That we will be together... always, do you understand? Nothing... nothing and no-one shall ever part us. No matter what happens..."

I could not find any proper words to answer to that. Actually, I did not even understand why my heart clenched so painfully...

"I will make you mine... completely. You will call this place your home. You will come to love it... just like you've come to love me, Arlette," he whispered quickly, as if trying to convince me it was the best choice for me. And somehow I trusted him. My heart stopped fighting... If he considered our marriage the best thing that could happen...

Leaning my head on his shoulder, I closed my eyes and nodded. I felt him caress my back gently before he stood up, picking me up with him. Murmuring a quiet lullaby into my ear, he brought me somewhere, I did not even know where, and put me in a bed. Before I fell asleep, I managed to notice him laying down next to me.

And then, everything was engulfed by darkness.


	26. Meno mosso

I knew we should have never slept side by side, but actually we had not done anything wrong, had we? I could not think of anything wrong the next morning as I woke up. My Angel was no longer by my side, so I could not ask him about that. Besides, he had other idea about what was right and what was wrong – after all, he had never lived a normal life, like I had. Not to mention, I was not quite sure whether it would be a good idea to ask him about such a thing; he might got angry at me not trusting him.

With a deep sigh, I glanced at my hand. That little silver ring he had slipped upon my finger the previous night still glimmered in the darkness. It was a sign to both me and the rest of the world that I truly belonged to him. There was no-one else who could ever steal my heart. No, he had not stolen it. He had worked hard to fish it out of the nothingness. He truly deserved it, and I could not refuse him this reward.

I still wondered what it would look like from now on. He would never leave this place just to get married to me, right? Then would he bring the priest to his kingdom? Somehow it did not seem to be a good idea...

It was not quite the wedding I had dreamt of. After all, like every other young girl, I had always wanted to have a beautiful wedding with the ones I loved surrounding me. I wanted Meg to stand by my side... I wanted Madame to see me happy. Had she not done everything to make me happy during all those years? And it was all thanks to her that I had met my Angel. She also helped to make me happy.

And yet, he did not seem to be willing to let me contact her. Even though I asked him, even though I had suggested that several times, he had never allowed me to write to her. And without his help, I would never be able to send any letter. Besdies, I simply did not want to do anything against his will.

Right now, whether I wanted it or not, this place was my home. And he was my whole world. My tutor and my friend, my family and my lover. I knew that my life would probably look like this from now on, and it may never change. And while I did not mind living such a life, I simply missed my friends.

Now, as Meg was there, I decided to ask her about her and Madame's wellbeing. Unfortunately, as I soon got to know, Meg was still unconscious. I sat down on the bed next to her, caressing her cheek. I had never wanted her to end up like that. Nevertheless, I could understand why my Angel had done that. I just did not know why he had had to be this cruel to my friend... but then I remembered that he could not know much about friendship.

I sighed quietly and leant down to place a gentle kiss on Meg's forehead before leaving the room. I could not look at her in this state much longer. Deep in my heart, I was praying she would get better soon... otherwise Madame might follow her into this kingdom, and she would get into some serious trouble as well.

And I would never survive that.

I wondered where my Angel had gone because he was nowhere to be found. On the other hand, though, I knew that despite my having lived there for so long, I still did not know this place well enough to be completely sure he was not there.

At last, I decided to sit down at the harpsichord and begin my lessons without him. There were certain excercises I could do without him, therefore I did not have to worry that I would do something wrong. Besides, it would not be the first – nor probably the last – time I needed to practice by myself. My Angel might be my tutor, but it did not mean that he would do the whole work for me. I needed to work as well, even when he was not there. Or maybe especially when he was not there, so I could pleasantly surprise him.

"He is not here," I heard a familiar voice that made me jump from shock. At the same moment I turned back to see that _she_ was really there.

"Madame!" I answered in a voice in which surprise was easily audible. My eyes were now wide open, and truth be told, I had no idea what to say. Eventually, I heard myself muttering, "Wha- what are you doing here?"

She hushed me with just one gesture as she placed her hand on my wrist. I had some bad feeling about it.

"We may leave now. Take Meg... and escape. I won't let him take you again. It's all my fault... I should have made sure... I should have never let him meet you. I knew he might hurt you, and yet, I did not take proper care of you," she muttered, and although I knew that the note in her voice was regret, at the same time, I could not help but notice she was angry. At the same time, though, I had no idea what might have caused this anger.

Of course, we were not the most perfect of couples. I was aware of the fact that my Angel was much older than me. That he had captured me and kept me in his kingdom against my own will. That he was different than any other man. But maybe that made me so happy with him. I understood him better than I had ever understood anyone, and I knew that he could see right through me, understanding what I wanted and needed.

We might not be a couple which everyone else wants to be. However, we were happy with each other, and I did not want to leave now. At the same time, though, I understood that my decision might make Madame furious.

"But... Madame... I am here on my own free will," I responded quietly, lowering my sight and slipping my hand out of her grasp. "I want to be here. With... with my Angel. If I wanted to leave, I would have left already. He does not keep me here by force anymore. He allowed me to leave, but... but I refused."

The muscles around her jaw twitched slightly, and I moved a bit back, already knowing that it was no good sign.

"You cannot stay here, Arlette. It's not a place for a young woman like yourself! Everyone's worried! Your absence made Meg so nervous she came here, risking her own life for you! You cannot stay here. You have your responsibilities. Otherwise, you will lose your job... and neither of us wants that, right?"

However, both she and I knew that it was not that easy. My Angel wanted me there – and he would make sure I would stay where I was. One of my hands touched the other in a simple nervous motion. It made Madame glance at them and she reached for them as I quickly answered, pretending I had not noticed that.

"He is my teacher, Madame, I cannot leave now. My education is not finished yet. I shall return... but not now."

Madame seemed not to listen to me, though, as she stared at the ring around my finger. I could feel my heart pounding in my chest, and I wondered if she was aware of how scared I was at that moment. And if she did – if she knew what caused it.

At last, she let out a deep sigh and glanced up at me. I could not decipher this look in her eyes. I had a feeling, though, it did not mean anything good to me. Although I tried not to seem to feel guilty, my cheeks were now almost completely red and I bit my bottom lip, lowering my sight. It was hard for me to breathe.

"What... what is it, Arlette?"

Her voice did not tremble with anger, however, it was strangely empty. I knew it was that stage of her irritation which bordered with complete fury. Never before had I gone that far, and I did not want to try now. On the other hand, though, I did not want her to pull me with her anymore. I appreciated her help and love, but I lived a completely new life now, and even if I wanted, I would not be able to return to the previous one.

Closing my eyes, I took a deep breath, not sure what to answer. She knew what it was on my finger... however, she needed to hear that from my lips.

"I love him, Madame," I whispered at last, but I had a feeling she already knew that. What she thought about it, though, was a completely different thing. And for some reason, I did not think that she would agree to that.

But did I really need her agreement? It was my choice. Mine and my Angel's. If we loved each other, why would we not be together? And why would it cause any problems to anyone around us?

Of course, I did want Madame to accept us... but it was not something I needed necessarily to make my choice. I had already made it without it. I wanted to stay with my Angel forever. As his friend, lover or spouse.

"You know nothing of love," she answered quite harshly, what hurt me terribly, but I dared not say a word. "Arlette, you are still a child. To him... you are young enough to be his daughter. He is not the man I would like to see by your side. You deserve someone younger... calmer... someone who would make you feel happy and safe. You know you are like a daughter to me, and Meg sees a sister in you. I do not wish to see him crash your world just because you are infatuated right now... I know that youthful feelings may seem to be stronger..."

My heart seemed to be set aflame by her words. Truth be told, I could not believe that a woman who had done so much for me, who had always cared for me could have said something like that right after I had confessed that I truly loved the man who wanted me as his bride. Did she really not trust me enough to understand?

"No, Madame," I responded, and my voice trembled. I did not even know what made it sound like that: my sadness? Anger? Disappointment...? "I know exactly what I feel. And while I do love you and Meg... you have always supported me... I cannot make my feelings depend on that love. I... I want to be free."

And there they were: the words I had been wanting to say for so long. My heart kept pounding, but even for a while I did not allow myself to lower my sight. I hoped she would understand. I did not want to make her angry... but I was not a child anymore. And I wished she would realise that after so many years of taking care of me.

Yes, I was willing to repay her properly for her care. I would never leave her completely, even though I was planning to start anew.

"Then... then this is your choice," she whispered, apparently shocked with my boldness. Had she not expected this answer? I opened my mouth to explain myself, but I could not find any proper words. Besides, she had already stepped away from me. "You... you want to stay here... even though you don't have any future here."

"This is the future I have chosen for myself, Madame," I responded so quietly that I did not know whether she could hear me or not, but the look she gave me assured me she did. And I did not regret that.

Without a word she turned back.

"Should I help you take Meg?" I asked as soon as I noticed that. "I am sure he... he won't mind it if she stays as long as she needs to recover. I will make sure she is alright... and when she is... she'll return to you."

I had never seen such a glance in Madame's eyes. It was so cold that I shivered, almost physically freezing.

"I'll take her myself," she said in a voice just as cold, and I honestly felt hurt. Was there really something I had done wrong? Was love something forbidden, even though it was between two people as different as me and my Angel?

"You won't be able to, we both know it," I replied quickly, standing up. "And even if you do... you won't be fast enough to disappear before..." For some reason, I decided to avoid using the name "my Angel" when I was talking to her. "Before he comes back... and... and he's told me that anyone who enters this place must die."

She must have understood that despite the fact we did not agree in this one aspect, I did not want her to die.

"Please, Madame... run away... get back to your world. I am safe here... and you know now that I'm perfectly fine. Now, I will make sure Meg is fine, too, before she returns to you. You can trust me."

"I don't know who to trust anymore," she muttered, and I heard in the way she uttered those words that she was not lying.

Nevertheless, she decided to leave Meg in my care, so my Angel would not notice that she had even been there (it could do harm to all of us) and before I even saw her leaving, she was no longer there.


	27. Adagio cantabile

A couple of days had passed before my Angel allowed Meg to return to the world of day. However, he did not allow me to accompany her, apparently afraid that I would use that chance to escape from him. I could not understand why he still did not have enough trust in me... though, when I asked him about that, he explained that it was not me he did not trust but the rest of the world.

"They have never truly appreciated you," he added, gently putting his hand on my cheek, "and now, as I appreciated you the way they should have... they might try to take you away from me. And I do not want to risk it, my child."

Nodding my head, I glanced at my hand; the ring on my finger glistened mysteriously in the dim light of the candles.

Somehow, I could understand why he was so afraid. And at the same time, I simply wanted to be free. Although I knew that my life could now look like this from now on, without me really having my own free will, I still wanted to stay with him. With my Angel. Otherwise, my life would not have any sense.

Until I had met him, it had been a good life, but it had not had any taste. I could live it until my death and I would have not got to know what real life tasted like. But now, as I had met him... I simply could not lose him. He was my everything; my past and my future, and my present. Without him, not only would I not be able to make a step forward, but also I would not be able to step back. I would be stuck at the moment I was at right now.

But I was not only thinking of my future. Simply, I wanted him by my side, and the reasons were as egoistic as possible. His presence made me feel wonderful; safe and needed, and special. I loved the way he praised me – like any woman would love to be praised by an amazing man. I was no different.

At the same time, though, I did respect him. It was not like I treated him like an object who would praise me forever. I wanted to get better and better – just for him. Because he deserved all the best, and I did know that I was not the best just yet. Maybe I would never be, I thought, but if he had chosen me, then I needed to make sure I would get as close to perfection as I only could – therefore I practiced whenever I was able to, and I could feel myself getting better every day, whether I practiced by myself or with him.

However, I felt that I still was not good enough.

"If you overstrain yourself before the great day, all of our hard work will go to waste, Arlette," my Angel at last scolded me when one evening I sat down, completely exhausted after a long day and hardly any sleep at night. "Moreover, if you keep on doing that, you will lose your beautiful voice forever."

In shame, I lowered my sight and bit my bottom lip. I understood that he wanted all the best for me – but I wanted the very same for him, and it seemed to be the best choice. However, he was not satisfied with my choice.

My Angel approached me and knelt down before me, just like he had before, when he had been listening to my heartbeat, and sighed, caressing my cheek. I dared not look up at him, ashamed of myself. I did not want to disobey him... and I truly respected him, but at the same time, I wanted to get better for him.

"What's wrong, my sweetest Arlette?" he asked gently, and the way he uttered my name, once again made me feel butterflies in my stomach as my heart fluttered in my cheek. Although I had stayed in his kingdom for almost half a year already, I still felt like a little girl who had heard a compliment whenever he called me by my name or touched me.

At the same time, though, it made me feel even worse. I felt so guilty for disappointing him, even though I did it all for him.

"Nothing, my Angel," I responded, shaking my head, but although a part of me wanted to move away from him, I simply leant my face closer to his touch. Closing my eyes, I let out a soft sigh. It was such an amazing feeling.

I loved him. With all I had, as much as I could. And every day I learnt to love him even more. That was why I did not want to let him down.

"I know you are doing your best, but you cannot overload yourself. I do not tell you to stop practicing because this is not what you should do. However, you cannot practice all the time. I want you to have some fun as well. You need to recover because what we do is already a lot... you could hurt yourself if you do much more."

Leaning in, he placed a soft kiss on my forehead, soothing me a little bit. I did not even know when my hands found their way to his own, and I slipped my fingers into his grasp. It could have been my imagination, but I was sure I could see him smiling a little.

His thumb brushed against the ring on my finger before he brought my hand closer to his lips to kiss it, as if sealing the promise.

"Monsieur," I started, but he hushed me with just his glance.

"You belong to me, Arlette. And you always will... and this is why I will never let you hurt yourself. Soon, you will be my bride, I promise that to you. You need not do anything more to convince me that you are the one for me. You just need to keep your promises: just... just obey my orders. That's all you need to do."

Without a moment of hesitation, I nodded, knowing that whatever he said, it would be the best choice for me to follow his words. I trusted him more than I trusted myself, and with every next moment I trusted him even more.

Because of Meg's presence, he had begun to wear his mask once again, and now, as I looked into his eyes, I could not help but feel a terrible pain in my chest. Moreover, I had caught him checking on the curtains covering the frames, whatever they were, several times, and it made me even more curious – what could they have been?

Right now, all I wanted to do was to rip this mask off of his face and toss it somewhere he would never be able to retrieve it from. I loved him with his face, the way it was. And yet, now as he put this wall between the two of us, I was afraid of us parting once more. Despite his words, I feared he did not trust me anymore.

Was it because of the incident with Meg? Or something else had made him step away from me? I was not quite sure, but I did not feel comfortable knowing that there was something between us that had not already been there.

From that moment, the days passed on quietly. I followed my Angel's words and now, I spent more time sleeping and simply relaxing, just the way he wanted me to, so I was much stronger than I had been. Our lessons, too, brought more pleasure to me thanks to that. My fears slowly began to go away as I was not so stressed anymore.

When I saw him looking at me, I noticed adoration in his eyes, just like before, when he had first brought me into this world. And still, I did not know how to appreciate it properly... but I felt so thankful deep in my heart that I was sure he could feel it without me saying that out loud. Especially when our eyes met or when he touched me. I realised that – just like I loved him even more – his love for me grew even stronger.

I knew our life was going to change soon. After all, he would at last let me out into the world that had once been my own. I was going to start singing for someone else but him... and I was not quite sure what it all would be like. I would need to get used to what had once been normal to me once again.

It would be a lie to say I was not nervous. At the same time, I truly wanted to get back to my old friends, but I was afraid of meeting them. I felt wonderful, living there, in this kingdom of music and night, just with my Angel and no-one else besides us. In this place, no-one but him could reach me. And that made me feel safe – it was exactly what I needed. What both of us needed. But still, we knew we would not be able to live like this forever.

He had been teaching me so long so I could breathe in some life into the music he had created, and that was my mission. And to complete it, I needed to get back to my old life... even if just for a while. However, I had a feeling that both of us were scared of taking that risk – because it surely was quite risky.

One evening, my Angel stood behind me and wrapped his arms around me, pressing my back against his chest; his chin rested on the top of my head. Knowing that he could not see my face at that moment, I allowed myself to close my eyes and smile softly. However, I had not planned to sigh as deeply as I did.

"My little bird," he sang quietly, playing with my hair; it was way more pleasant than I would have ever suspected it to be. "Will you fly away from me once I set you free? Or shall you return to your cage on your own free will...?"

I understood him perfectly. He was afraid of losing me, but at the same time, I was afraid that the world was going to try to pull me away from him. And that was definitely not something I would ever want. I belonged to my Master. And there was no place for me in the world of the day... my place was right next to him.

"The bird is not going to fly away, her place is right here," I answered in a whisper, but at the same time, I could hear the very same melody in my voice that my Angel had used. "She will never leave her Angel on her own free will."

As he heard that, he turned me in his arms so I would stand right before him, looking into his eyes. His hand gently brushed my hair behind my ear, and he leant in to kiss my forehead. Then my nose. And at last, he planted a gentle kiss upon my lips as his thumb caressed the corner of my mouth.

"When you return to me, my little bird," he responded quietly, this time no longer singing, "I will never let you go again. I promise. As soon as you get back where you belong... I shall make you mine so no-one will ever touch you again."

Although I had been wearing the ring for some time already, I could swear I felt it even better on my finger at that moment.

"I love you, my Angel," I replied only, resting my head on his shoulder, and he tenderly stroked my hair. I felt like a child in her mother's arms... so calm and so safe. I would never wish to leave his embrace again. And yet, I did know that it would be just a couple of days before I needed to leave my nest and start a new life on my own.

It was going to be a hard trial to me. For him, though, I needed to pass this exam perfectly, so we could be together always. He had put so much effort into preparing me to be a wonderful singer. And I had never felt more confident of what I could do... and I knew very well that I was capable of playing the lead – especially since it was his music I was going to sing. On the other hand, though, it would be a completely different singing as I was no longer going to sing it all just for him. There would be so many people listening...

"Just imagine it's the two of us," he answered as I shared my worries with him. Having put his forefinger under my chin, he tipped it gently so I was forced to look directly into his eyes. "I am going to be there – the box five is always meant to be kept empty. If you feel insecure, just look in that direction, and I will be there."

Smiling gently, I nodded. I knew that I could always count on him – however, I was also aware of the fact that the burden laid now on my own shoulders. Once I would get onto the stage, he would no longer be able to protect or help me.

"I will sing it all just for you, my Angel," I replied, smiling, even though I did not remember forming my lips into such a shape. "And all of the world is going to know about your greatness. About the magic concealed in your music."

"It's only you who can push life into their stillness, Arlette. But for now," he kissed my temple one last time, "go and rest. We still have lots of work awaiting us."


	28. Ad libitum

_**A/N:** I am so very sorry I am no longer able to update the story everyday. I am doing my best, though, to publish as often as I can... also, I would like to apologise for this chapter being so short._

 _As you have probably noticed, this story is getting closer to the end... and I expect it to be finished in a couple of weeks. What will happen after that? I don't know yet. For now, though, enjoy!_

* * *

I knew that I would soon be forced to leave this calm place and return to the garish light of day, to the world I had known for so many years before he had shown me the real beauty. I was aware of the fact neither of us wanted it, but we needed to part – just so I could meet the rest of the people. The final rehearsals were getting closer and closer, and it was only thanks to my Angel's power that I still had my role.

I had been gone for almost six months. All this time the director and the others had been practicing the new play – while I had been practicing with my tutor, but I had not taken part in any of the rehearsals that were obligatory for everyone. After all, I knew what it always looked like... and in spite of everything, the director was quite strict. He would not let anyone act the way I acted. And it was not even thanks to me.

All the time I had spent in this kingdom, I had a feeling he had been writing to the director when I had not been watching. There were times when he just disappeared – and I could never be sure whether he was still in there (because I had never learnt what this world of night truly looked like), or he left. And then, after some time, he simply emerged from the darkness. Nevertheless, I was under the impression that he kept writing those letters and left this place to send them to the director and to the others.

Now, after all this time, I began wondering how did Meg do. Once again, I had started missing her and Madame... but I dared not ask my Angel for permission to write to them once more. I did not want to make him angry; besides, it might have brought the thought of my soon departure to his mind, and neither of us wanted to think of it. In a couple of days I would see Meg and Madame again – and no letters were necessary, to be honest.

I knew I would be gone for just a couple of weeks, not much longer. After that, I would return to my Angel and nothing and no-one would ever part us again – maybe apart from music. After all, that was my role now: I was supposed to breathe some life into my Angel's music. He was the one to create it. I was the one to share it with the rest of the world.

However, there were tunes he had created that were not supposed to see the light of the day. Not now, not ever. And that fact made me strangely happy. Why? Because those were the melodies my Angel had composed just for me. They were so intimate that sharing them with the world would be almost indecent. And neither of us wanted anyone else to hear them – that was the only one unspoken rule regarding those songs.

Because yes, no matter how strange that might sound, we did sing to each other sometimes, in spite of using simple words. Music had the right power to put enough emotion into what we wanted to say... and it had soon turned out to be the most natural way of sharing our thoughts with the other. And neither of us seemed to mind it.

Time passed by much faster than either of us would have wanted, and before we noticed, it was already the night before my departure. That night my Angel stopped me from trying to practice anymore, and he faced me with an expression I had never seen before.

"What if I lose you?" he asked out of sudden, touching my cheeks with his trembling hand. I wanted to catch it, but he quickly took it away before standing up. His fingers ran through his hair as he began to pace around the main hall, not even daring look at me. It was physically painful, to see him in such a state.

"You won't, Master," I responded, following him and getting up. As soon as I did, he glanced at me and came to a halt. After a short while, he approached me in a couple of long steps, taking my hands into his own.

"You don't want it. Neither do I," he answered, shaking his head. "But you cannot promise such things. It's not something you can be sure of... there will be many, many people around you. They might try to make you change your mind, your heart... and they should belong to me forever. You're getting out of my grasp now, though, my sweet, and I can no longer make sure they won't lay their dirty fingers upon you."

That was the day I had dreamt about for so long – the day I was about to sing for so many people. Right now, though, I realised I did not really want that. I was scared of returning to the world of day. What I wanted right now, was to stay there, with my Angel, whose calming touch could soothe me at any moment.

But that was not something I could do. I had promised him that I would make his song take flight... and I was about to keep my promise.

"I will be careful... I swear, my Angel," I whispered, but he did not reply to my words. Instead, he just smiled and after a moment, I could feel his lips upon my own... and that kiss was hungrier than any of those he had offered me before.

As if I was to never come back.

* * *

The next morning, I woke up earlier than I usually would, and for a while I just laid there, staring at the canopy. However, soon, I heard my Angel's steps and he entered my room, so I forced myself to sit up.

"Good morning," he spoke to me gently, handing me my breakfast and placing a gentle kiss upon my forehead. "Just... eat it and get ready, so we can head back to your world," he added before leaving.

I felt so terrible that I did not even find enough strength in me to protest. The world I was returning to was no longer my world. However when I was at last able to reach my voice, he was no longer there, so I sighed and began eating.

Never before had I felt that way. That was probably the same feeling as letting a child taste a sweet, then taking it away just to see the kid cry. I did not allow myself to cry, however, I could feel that was on the verge of tears already.

Of course, my Angel would still be there – he would be listening to me, watching me... but it would no longer be the same. I was going to stay too far from him than I could stand, but I had to. There was no chance I could return to the kingdom of music while performing. Only when the play was finished...

"Why does it seem to be so long," I muttered to myself, finishing my breakfast and starting getting ready.

When I met my Angel, we remained silent. He took my hand and led me to the boat, helping me sit down safely before he grabbed the pole and we crossed the lake. I hated that silence surrounding us, but I did not have enough confidence to break it. I just observed his reflection on the surface of the popply water.

That part of our journey was over way too quickly and before I noticed, he was already pulling me down the corridors. I knew we were closer with every step we took, and like a little child, I just wanted to stop and argue with him that I would not go any further. Nevertheless, both of us knew I could not.

The light of the day made me flinch slightly. However, we were still hidden behind some curtain I did not recognise at first – after all, our first meeting had been so magical to me that I could hardly remember which way he had led me.

"I don't want to leave," I whispered at last, looking at my Angel, and apparently surprised, he turned his head to look at me.

"I know, my child," he answered, and to my surprise, he smiled gently. "But this is what both of us wished for. And it's a trial both of us need to endure. You will see – it will be over before you notice... and you'll yearn for more."

I dared not protest, so I followed him outside to notice I was nowhere else but in the room that had been mine for so many years. Taking a deep breath, I looked around. Apparently Meg or Madame, or someone else had been taking care of it while I had been gone. Now, though, I would return to the duties I had known for all the years I had spent in this very chamber. For a couple of weeks I would return to the life I had lived for so long.

"From now on, you need to go by yourself," he told me, brushing some of my hair away from my face, "but should you need me, just call my name, and I will be with you."

"Never have I got to know your name, my Angel," I responded, although I should have bitten my tongue.

Instead of scolding me, though, he leant in, and whispered his name right into my ear before placing a gentle kiss on my cheek. With a smile, I sighed and closed my eyes – and when I opened them again, he was no longer there.


	29. Andante semplice

One can imagine how surprised everyone was once I had been found. No wonder, though, for it had been at least a couple of months since I had been gone. To me, it was both as if I had disappeared the day before and at least a century ago. Everything was just the way it had used to be; however, I had a strange feeling that I no longer matched this place. I knew that this was the very place I had grown up in. Still, after I had found out the new life my Angel let me know, I could no longer live in this world anyone else would call normal.

Everything in this world seemed to be too bright, too obvious. I had learnt to live in a place that nothing was obvious, where almost everything was nothing but a whisper, and a secret. A mystery. My Angel himself was the greatest mystery of all.

The thought of him itself made me shiver, and I could not help but smile, even though everyone around me seemed to be so worried. I never wanted to worry them; I truly appreciated their presence but at that moment I realised that it turned out to be a burden to me. For the past couple of months my Angel and music were my only companions. Right now, I was surrounded by at least a dozen of people, and it felt as if someone had locked me in a cage.

"You seem to be sick," I heard from somewhere, even though just before a moment I had tried to convince everyone I really was alright. Maybe I was a little bit pale, but it must have been because the lack of sunlight.

However I did feel a tad sick, but it had nothing to do with the physical part of me. I truly missed my Angel and his kingdom. Our home...

"I am completely fine, I assure you," I repeated once more, trying not to sound irritated, because although I did not feel too well with all those people around me, I knew they were all concerned. They would not be there if they did not care about me. And I had to admit that it was a pleasant feeling.

"You must be tired," said some voice in which I recognised our conductor. "I bet you did not have enough sleep."

It might have been just the lights playing upon Madame's face, but for a moment I was certain she winced a bit, and I could not quite understand why she would do that. Nevertheless, I was sure she kept observing me with even more concern than anyone else. However, there was fear in her eyes, as if she was afraid of seeing someone else instead of me in my face.

"I had a fair amount of sleep, _monsieur_ , thank you," I responded, hoping my voice did not sound tired, as I glanced at the man nearby. "I have been practicing a lot all that time, though, maybe this is why I may look sick."

"Whatever the reason is," Madame at least spoke up, taking my hand and pulling me out of the crowd, for what I was truly thankful, "you definitely should have an hour of rest. I am sure no-one will have anything against that."

At last I could see the very same Madame I had once known, and it would be a lie to say I was not relieved. I even allowed myself to smile for a moment.

No-one protested when she pulled me by hand towards my room. I had a feeling that she wanted to talk to me, but it was dangerous to say anything as long as somebody could hear it. And this feeling was not groundless. As soon as the door closed behind us, she paid me a glance that made me shiver. It was the very same look I had seen on her face earlier that morning, full of fear and concern. I wanted to calm her down, yet I had no idea how to do that, so I remained silent, not sure of what to expect.

"You should consider yourself lucky," she spoke at last, and it sounded as if she wanted to add that firm note of hers into her voice, but something did not let her do that, grabbing her by her throat. "The chance of you getting out of that hell was..."

" _He_ wanted me to come here. And it is not a hell," I heard my own voice.

Of course, I was aware of the fact I should have not said anything like that to Madame, to the person who loved and cared about me the most since I could remember. However, her words put everything inside me aflame.

"Oh, don't be silly, Arlette. Do you think I don't know what it is like in there? In fact, I do, I do, better than you may think! I know this place better than anyone but him," she replied in a hushed tone, but I could hear her irritation in spite of how quiet her voice was. "And it is a hell. I am the one responsible for it. I allowed him to create it. I let all of the evil get out of that place. You were an inch from death."

"I was not, I swear!"

Tears gathered up in my eyes. Hardly could I believe my beloved Madame could say something like that about the person she must have known I loved.

"It is not you he wants," she warned me before I could say anything else; she used the moment my breath hitched and I was not able to speak. "It is your voice. Your talent. He cares about no-one but himself and his music. He is... very talented, it is true, but he has become a god to himself. But the more he thinks of himself as of a god, the more of a beast he becomes. He is more and more dangerous with every waking moment."

"Madame, I know him. I am sure I do," I cut in, unable to listen to her words anymore. "And... of course he wants my voice. This is why he wanted me to perform. But there is something more... something beyond anything I could ever imagine."

She did not respond this time. Her glance remained stern and her face once more reminded me of the face I had used to known all my life. It both let me feel relieved and somehow frightened. The change in it was not a good omen.

"I just hope you know what you are doing," she said coldly before turning back.

Once the door closed behind her, I sighed and fell down onto my bed in which I had not slept for so long. Covering my face with my hands, I just wished I could wake up to realise I was still in my Angel's kingdom.

"Arlette!"

Quickly, I took my hands away from my face and sat up, turning my head towards the door, from where that familiar voice came.

"Good Lord, I started worrying you'd never come back."

In a wave of sheer relief and happiness, Meg, who had just crept into my room, took me in her arms, pulling me close to her. I had to admit I truly missed her, too. Fighting my tears, I embraced her just as tightly, basking in her sweet scent, in the warmth of her body, now pressed so tightly to my own.

"I am here, Meg, you should have never been worrying about me," I assured her quietly once I pulled back to look at her face. Now, I could say she seemed to be sick or at least exhausted. "Whatever your mother says, my Angel is not an evil person. He cared about me all this time. He made sure I was alright."

With a small chuckle, she took my face in her hands, just as if I was a little girl and she was my mother.

"You seem to be blushing, Arlette," she noticed, raising her brows a little, what truly put a blush onto my cheeks; I could feel them burning. "Oh, sweetheart, you act like a girlie who does not know a thing about..."

"Stop, Meg," I muttered, trying to turn away from her, but it was not so easy with her still holding my face.

My reaction only made her laugh. And, oh, was I happy to hear her laugh! Despite my embarrassment, I could feel that wonderful wave of warmth flooding my heart, bringing back the colours to this world.

"Don't you say you are not in love," she replied after a moment, forcing me to look right into her eyes. "I can see it in your face. And I can hear it in your voice. There has never been a girl who has been so much in love as you."

For a while, I remained silent, not quite sure what to say. It was so obvious. No, it was not that I did not want the world to know that. However, never had I thought that someone would read right through my heart so easily. Still, it was Meg. She had always found it easy to understand what I thought and felt.

Delicately, I took her hands into my own, pulling them away from my cheeks just to take hold of them.

"Your mother thinks he wants me just for my voice," I whispered with concern. "He thinks he wants to hurt me... which I do know he would never do. I just wish she would understand, but she is convinced he is a beast. But there has never been a man who would be as good and as kind to me as him. He truly is an Angel, Meg."

No longer was she smiling, and soon, I remembered why. After all, there was that moment when he had tried to kill her. In her mind, he could not be an Angel. Lowering my sight, I apologised, feeling awkward.

"No, do not be sorry," she responded, taking a deep sigh, but one of her hands slipped out of my grasp and touched her neck. The memory of it had to be still so clear... "I am sure he is an Angel to you. I just... I cannot be surprised my mother does not consider him one. He has done so many terrible things, Arlette... she is..."

"I know she is worried, Meg. I do. You know I love your mother as if she were my own. And if I only could express it to her how thankful I am... but there are things she simply does not understand..."

"Just... do not remind her of him anymore, alright?" she whispered. "She has been through so much. For so long she had been sure it had been over, but then... then he had returned to haunt you..."

I forced myself to stay calm, even though I honestly disliked the word _haunt_.

"Besides, you know she is partially right. He came here for you just because he wanted your voice. Otherwise, he would never start bothering everyone else, making sure you would play the lead. He would not do that for anyone, even if he loved them most, if their voice was not good enough."

Of course she was right, even though I did not want to admit that, so I simply remained silent, looking away from her face.

"But things have changed," I insisted, what made Meg laugh once again.

"Oh, of course they did!" she agreed. "When I last saw you, you had at least half of your heart for yourself. Now, you have given all of it to the one you call your Angel, leaving nothing for yourself."

"I have his," I muttered.

Still chuckling, Meg pressed a kiss to my temple.

"I do hope you are right, Arlette. It would be a shame if you were not. But right now, it is not the best time to talk about love and lovers. I am sure that – although worried about you – everyone wants to start the rehearsal."

With embarrassment, I realised that for a while I had completely forgot why I had returned. The only reason was that I needed to practice with the others before the premiere. The great night that was getting closer and closer.

"It will be the first time with the lead," she said as we walked quickly through the corridors. "Everyone is so excited. Our first night is in just a couple of weeks, and they say someone really important is going to appear, curious what kind of a new play it is."

Her words did not let me feel any better, but I did not have time to answer as we walked onto the stage. The director paced around in circles, apparently quite impatient – I just hoped we were not late.

"Ah, good," he said as his eyes landed upon our faces. "So we may start."

Meg whispered "good luck" to me and stepped back as I took a deep breath, looking around.

Although it was not the first time I stood on a stage, never before had I played the lead, and I suddenly felt the great weight of responsibility landing upon my shoulders. Everything depended on me. Everyone relied on me.

But then... just a second before the orchestra started playing... I saw something that encouraged me. Right in front of me, in the box five, sat my Angel, his eyes focused on me, and on me only, as if the whole world did not exist.

And just as if it was just him and me once more, in his kingdom, I began to sing.


	30. Mormorando lugubre

My days passed slowly like the first I had spent back in the world of day. But it was more as if I was in a constant sleep, surrounded by thick air that would never allow me to breathe. Only when I joined the rest of the cast on the stage, when I saw the face of my Angel turned towards me, when I remembered the moments we had spent together, singing and practicing the very same parts I sang now... it was like waking up to the dream I could live in.

Nevertheless, besides those wonderful moments of sheer bliss, I was not happy. At least not as much as I had used to be in my Angel's kingdom of music and night. To experience that very happiness I needed to return to what now seemed to be my real home, despite the fact I had always lived right here, where I was now.

To be honest, I was surprised to realise how much everyone praised me, nevertheless, I had to admit that even I noticed how my voice had improved during those months spent with my Angel. It was no longer the same voice I had known, but only now, as I stood there, with the others surrounding me, did I realise that. Never had it been this powerful. It was as if I could fill the whole theatre with my voice to the brim, even when I sang as quietly as I could.

It was just the night before the premiere. We had just finished our rehearsal and I could feel the magic of the moment slowly begin to wear off. That was the feeling I hated most because I knew I would soon need to return to this dull reality.

However, the next day at this time, we would be performing on the very same stage. And so many people were going to listen to me...

The director had once betrayed why he had been so worried about me when I had disappeared. It was not only his care about me as about a person – the tickets for the gala had been sold out in a moment. The knowledge of that fact made me both quite proud and simply scared.

Of course I had performed for many people before. But not as a lead. Usually I was just hidden amongst the other girls and no-one actually noticed me. Right now, all of the eyes would be set right upon me. If I did somethig wrong, everyone would see that. It was my duty to make sure the audience was happy.

"You're quite nervous, are you not," I heard Meg's voice sounding in my ear, and I sighed deeply, nodding my head. There was no point in lying to her; she would always notice that. Besides, she was the only person – besides my Angel – I could always be honest with, without worrying she would use that to hurt me.

"Would you not be, were you me?" Turning my head a little to look at her, I did my best not to sound like a little, whiny child.

Meg smiled.

"Of course I would. However, I would do anything to have the chance you have now. But it was not meant to be me. It was you. You have changed, Arlette. You have grown up... and everyone sees – and hears – that. Even my mother."

At that moment, she glanced over her shoulder; not far from where we were stood Madame Giry, however she was not looking in our direction. I was glad she was not – after all, I was not quite sure whether she would appreciate us talking about such things. I could still remember how she opposed to me even trying to get the role.

"Your mother has never wanted me to sing," I responded, unwillingly putting a little bit of bitterness into my voice. Ashamed, I lowered my sight, but Meg was faster, and she took my face into her hands, forcing me to glance at her.

There was something about her eyes that made me feel both awkward and strangely calm. As if she could see right through my soul – just like her mother could – but there was not as much harshness as in her mother's gaze.

"You know it is not true. She would do anything to let you live a happy and good life. She can recognise a person's talent... she knew, she has always known you are very talented, Arlette. And... were it not for the circumstances..."

Meg hesitated and so did I. That mysterious word _circumstances_ meant nothing more nor less than one person. One person who was an Angel and the Devil himself combined into one. The monster who had stolen so many lives... and my heart.

"But I am grown up now, Meg. She cannot decide what is best for me anymore. I am not a child," I whispered, feeling quite guilty.

Never had I wanted to worry Madame, and now, I could feel the burden of making her concerned once more.

"She just knows what you may expect of him," she began, but never finished what she had started.

"How can you be so careless," said a cold voice, and when I glanced up, I saw Madame's stern face. "To talk about such things in this place. Everyone could hear you two! You should have known better, Meg. And I expected more of you, too, Arlette."

Something like a ball made of ice fell right into my stomach. My nervousness connected to the performance suddenly disappeared, making place for a feeling so much worse than that. I hated letting Madame down.

"You should go to bed. Both of you," she added, this time louder, for until now, she had been just whispering. "Just like the rest. Tomorrow will be a difficult day and you need a good, deep sleep. Neither of you would ever want to disappoint the audience, would you."

However, it was not just the audience I did not want to disappoint. The one I was afraid of disappointing was going to occupy the box number five, as always, that was meant to be kept empty – Meg told me about deciding to keep that tradition alive. After what had happened in the past no-one wanted to make my Angel angry.

"You are right, mother."

It was Meg that rescued me; I had a feeling that it would not be good if I responded to Madame's words.

"Come, Arlette," she added after a moment, taking my hand.

Hardly could I even notice which paths she chose, I just followed her, not sure what to expect of the day that was to come. Neither of us broke the silence that had fallen between the two of us. I did not feel strong enough to even think of saying something, and Meg respected that and did not try to force me to keep our conversation.

Never before the way to our rooms had seemed to be that long.

"You will do just fine, Arlette, I know that," Meg smiled at me, brushing some hair away from my face, and I smiled faintly, nodding.

Yes, I would. I needed to. And I knew how to do that – it would be enough if I just glanced in that one direction... if I saw the face I loved so much smiling at me. Encouraging me. I needed nothing more but that smile and that glance. And that was something I was sure I could be sure of – he would come to see me. He promised.

"Have a good night, Meg," I said, pulling her into a tight hug before stepping back.

There was no jealousy in her eyes or in her behaviour, even though she had confessed she truly wanted to be me in this case. No wonder; almost every girl wanted to be me. Playing the lead was just what any girl I knew could ever dream of. And this dream had already become true to me – I was jealous of my own luck.

"Have some sleep, Arlette. You still do not look well enough," she murmured gently before leaving the room.

I guessed that look upon my face had nothing to do with sleep or my health. It must have been my longing written down in my eyes. It had been so long since I had last heard my Master's voice, since I had felt his touch. And yes, it was such a strong feeling that I had hardly any sleep those nights. And when I actually managed to fall asleep, all I could see under my eyelids was my Master's face, full of anger and disappointment as he whispered those words over and over again in a trembling voice...

 _You betrayed me. You have promised that you would come back with me – but you did not. You chose the world of day over me and my kingdom of night. I gave you everything – and this is how you pay me?_

Once he said the last word, I always woke up, shivering and breathing deeply, his voice still echoing in my head.

I almost jumped when I heard someone knocking on my door.

"Please, do come in," I spoke up automatically, to be honest, thinking that it was Meg once more.

However, it was not Meg. And I could not actually say that I had not expected this person to appear in my room that night.

"I thought you would be already asleep," Madame sighed, stepping in. As soon as the door closed behind her, she stepped closer to me. "Tomorrow is a very important day. Especially for you, my child."

Her voice was so soft I could not help but feel surprised. In her eyes I could see that shadow of concern once more, and adding that to the tone of her voice, I felt sorry. It was all my fault that she had to go through so much.

Since when I could remember she had been caring about me. Never had she allowed anything bad to happen to me. There was something harsh about her behaviour, but she had never been cruel. That made her a wonderful mother – even if she was not truly my mother. I loved her, and I was sure she loved me, too, even though she had never said it out loud.

Without a word, she let my hair loose; and I did not protest, letting her brush the strands with her fingers.

"You may even want to have some medicine for sleep... I made sure there was a bottle in your nightstand," she added quietly, placing her hands on my shoulders. Silently, I nodded; it was all I could do to thank her.

Actually, I thought it might be a good idea. I needed some good rest that night, so when Madame left the room and I changed into my sleeping clothes, I poured some of the medicine into the glass that stood on my nightstand. Having drunk up, I lay down and the world dissolved into thick, dark nothingness.

* * *

The girl could not hear the quiet steps in the corridor – or even the soft click of the key in the lock. Madame sighed deeply, closing her eyes as her trembling hand slipped the key back into the pocket of her night robe.

"It is just for your own safety, Arlette," she whispered, as if trying to excuse her deed. "I hope you will understand..."


	31. Intermédie: Lamentoso

The whole building was asleep. It was always like this before the premiere; afterwards, there would probably a party to celebrate the success – and everyone believed that this play was going to be a great success, although at the beginning the majority had seemed to be quite reluctant and doubting. Once the real preparations had started, though, many things had changed and now everyone was asleep in their bed, full of faith and excited.

Or, at least, one could believe so.

It was dangerous to play with the Angel of Music this way, the woman knew, but if it was the only way to protect her student, who was like a second daughter to her, she would not hesitate to risk her own life. After all, she... she was just an old woman. She had already lived her life. On the other hand, though, Arlette was a young girl who still had her life to live. It would be such a shame to lose this chance.

Even if it meant that the girl needed to sacrifice her dream, even if it meant she needed to give up singing... there had to be a way to convince her to do that, for her own sake. She was too young to give all of her life, her heart and talent to a person she hardly knew. Who was capable of everything... who could hurt her in any way possible.

Lying in her bed, Madame sighed and stared at the dark ceiling above her. Back then, when it was all about Christine... there had still been Raoul. He was a good man. He knew how to protect his beloved. Right now, there was no-one to help the old woman... what was even worse, it seemed that while Christine had fought against having her soul captured by the mysterious angel, Arlette allowed him to enslave her completely.

The key seemed to be strangely cold against the skin of her palm, despite the fact she had been clenching it for a long time already. It was as if her conscience had decided to torment her for her deeds, even though she could not regret what she had done.

Because what mother would let something like that happen to her child? And Arlette _was_ her daughter, even though they were not related. There was no-one but her – and Meg – the poor orphan could rely on. No-one else she could ever trust. That was why the teacher needed to protect her, even if the rising star did not want that help.

It was so late... the following day was going to be really exhausting, and she was not as strong as she had once used to be. She needed sleep, and yet... somehow it did not want to come, no matter how hard she tried.

Was Arlette asleep? She must have been... there was no doubt, she must have used the medicine that would leave her oblivious to the fact that she would never perform. That her angel would never see her again – and thus she would be rescued.

Of course, Eric would be heartbroken. Probably even furious. Madame remembered every time his fury had taken over him because something had not gone the way he had wanted it to... What was going to happen now would definitely hurt him, but if she was to choose, she would choose the young girl's good and happiness over his own. And even over her own life, if it was going to end this way.

* * *

Even though I used the medicine, I did not have a peaceful night. I tossed and turned in my bed, as if it was made of fire and would not let me rest, burning every inch of my skin. What was strange, since I had slept in it for so many years and never had I found it uncomfortable. It must have been something else than the bed, then.

My dreams were strange. I could not even understand them... but I somehow knew that they were not a good omen right before the premiere. No, they did not show me failing as a singer. Actually, they had hardly anything to do with the picture of me singing... but there was something about them that would not let me rest.

I could see my Angel in every picture that showed up underneath my eyelids that night. But his face... the look upon his face made me feel sick. Never had I seen him that disappointed. Scared. Aching. As if something had happened between the two of us, something I could not remember, but what seemed to be haunting him. Seeing him like that caused physical and mental pain to me, too, even though it was just a dream.

A dream...

As I woke up, I had a feeling it had been ages since I had fallen asleep. My head ached and I did not quite know where I was – at least for a while, before I remembered I was no longer in my Angel's kingdom.

Slowly, I got up and walked closer to the window. I could not explain it, but I had an unpleasant feeling that something was wrong. Soon, I learnt why.

As I moved the curtains aside, hoping to feel a warm touch of daylight upon my face, I saw something completely else.

"Sunset...?" I whispered to myself, feeling my heart begin to sink to the bottom of my stomach. It could not be... if it was that time already, I was expected to be getting ready with the others...

Not only that, but it would mean I had slept all night and day long.

I did not care about having my hair done well. I only managed to put some clothes on, just so I would be able to walk out, before running towards the door. They were not open, as I expected. But there was also no key in the lock.

"God, please, no," my voice sounded as pitiful as it had never sounded. My hands trembled as I desperately tried to open the door which, I knew, was locked and without the key I would not be able to get out. "I must... I _must_..."

To be honest, at that moment I regretted I had never learnt how to open the door using a hair pin; there were people who could do that, but in my case it simply seemed to be unnecessary. Or at least it had, until now.

"Please, someone help me! Let me out!" I shouted over and over again, at the same time looking around in hope of seeing a key... or actually anything that would help me out of the trap of my own room.

But why did it all happen? I could not understand. It was not as if the door could lock itself, so there had to be someone who would have done that. However, I could not remind myself hurting anyone so much that they would try to take revenge in such a way. Besides, there were still so many people... Meg, Madame... if I did not show up, they would start looking for me, right? And they would find out what had happened.

And yet, now, no matter how hard I tried to open the door, or how much I cried out for help, there was no-one to help me. I even thought of the window, but my room was way too high to climb down the outer wall.

At that moment, I remembered that there was just one more way out – through the corridor, right to my Angel's kingdom. Maybe he was somewhere in there... with his help, I was sure I would find a way out of this hopeless situation.

Without a second thought, I let go of the handles and rushed towards the curtain, behind which I knew there should be the entrance...

...but there was none.

I placed my hand on the bricks that obstructed the way, but it seemed that someone had got rid of the pathway leading to the dungeons. Was it my Angel himself?

At the thought, I shook my head. No. It could not be him... he was not capable of doing such a thing... Besides, did he even have a reason to do something like that? He loved me. He needed me, and he knew that I needed him just as much.

Only then did I realise I was crying; tears running down my face covered my pale cheeks, but that could not help me. But then, there was actually _nothing_ that could help me at that moment. Maybe a miracle...

"Eric, my Angel..." I whispered numbly, leaning back against the wall that should not be there. Hardly did I even know what I was saying. "I need you so much right now..."


End file.
